Aviation history wasn’t made Sunday when two pilots attempted to swap planes while midair, resulting in a crash in the Arizona desert and prompting a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigation, according to Fox 10 Phoenix.
Sunday’s Red Bull-sponsored “plane swap” event was touted as the “world-first” and live-streamed on Hulu.
Attempting for the first time ever: swapping planes mid-air. Watch LIVE exclusively on Tonight @ 4 pm PT // 7 pm ET. pic.twitter.com/L11ZMrZlWX
— Hulu (@hulu) April 24, 2022
The pilots, Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington, used specially modified Cessna 182 planes with custom airbrakes to make a controlled nosedive at 14,000 feet.
Red Bull claimed the pilots would “go down in history as the first pilots to take off in one aircraft and land in another.” But one of the planes during the stunt spun out of control, forcing one of the pilots to bail, while the other pilot managed to commandeer the other plane and land it safely. Both pilots weren’t injured, and for the plane that spun out of control, a ballistic parachute was deployed before hitting the ground.
Here’s a video of the insane stunt.
This #RedBull #PlaneSwap in Arizona was crazy! Didn’t go as planned but luckily everyone is alright! pic.twitter.com/f9cpRclYtT
— Aaron Tevis (@AaronTevis) April 25, 2022
One plane crashed. The other one landed.
Me before drinking a @redbull ➡️ Me After drinking a #Redbull #PlaneSwap pic.twitter.com/HtrlytScbK
— Bale’s bogey Madrid serotonin (@LRMYSoccerOtter) April 25, 2022
Meanwhile, the FAA previously denied a request from Red Bull to conduct the dangerous stunt, according to Fox 10 Phoenix.
The agency wrote: “The FAA has considered the petition, and finds that granting an exemption from § 91.105(a) would not be in the public interest and cannot find that the proposed operation would not adversely affect safety.”
Now the FAA is investigating the crash.
