The falls are named after Jimmy Angel, a barnstorming bush pilot from Missouri who has become a modern legend. Jimmy Angel first saw the falls in 1933 while searching for a valuable ore bed. He returned in 1937 with his wife, Gustavo Heny and Heny's gardener, and landed on top of the tepui. His Falamingo monoplane settled down into the marshy ground atop Auyan-tepui and remained there for 33 years before being lifted out by a helicopter. Jimmy Angel and his three comapnions managed to descend the tepui and make their way back to civilization in 11 days.
Jimmy Angel's plane sits in the Aviation Museum in Maracay; the one you may be able to glimpse on top of the tepui is a replica.
