25 April 2022
Red Bull pilots and skydivers Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington took off from an undisclosed location in Arizona last night to attempt a ‘plane swap’ world first.
The plan called for the pilots to climb to 12,000ft in Cessna 182s before deploying huge air brakes, putting the aircraft into vertical dives and jumping out. Had everything gone to plan, both pilots would have tracked to each other’s aircraft before recovering for a traditional landing.
Shortly after leaving the aircraft, Luke’s Cessna was seen to enter a dive that went a little beyond vertical before entering a spin. Luke tracked to, and boarded Andy’s Cessna, recovering it for a normal landing, while Andy, immediately aware of the issue, opened his parachute and landed safely.
Meanwhile, although not (yet) shown by Red Bull TV, the BRS system on the out of control Cessna was activated, bring the aircraft to a presumably gentler reunion with the ground (although the unverified picture we’ve seen clearly shows an aeroplane that will never fly again)
Some US news sources are reporting that the FAA will be investigating the attempt after it rejected an application from the organisers for exemption from several regulations.
BRS activated on the spinning Cessna
Red Bull TV streamed the event live in a three-hour special that’s available online here. The action begins about two and a half hours in.
