Pilots who unsuccessfully attempted first-ever 'plane swap' have licenses revoked by FAA

[Demovictory9]

Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington, cousins and experienced skydivers, attempted the stunt on April 24 over Eloy, Arizona – around 50 miles southeast of Phoenix. The plan was for Aikins and Farrington to fly their planes 12,000 feet in the air before putting it into a nosedive, jumping out of their respective planes, skydiving into the other plane and then landing the plane safely.

While Aikins successfully completed the stunt, Farrington did not, as the plane he attempted to get into spiraled out of control and crashed in the desert. Farrington deployed his parachute as both pilots landed safely with no reported injuries.

After the unsuccessful stunt, the FAA announced they were investigating the incident, and also said they had denied Aikins' request for the stunt to receive an exemption from federal regulations before it took place.

"The FAA revoked the pilot certificates of the two pilots involved in the unauthorized Red Bull plane swap stunt on April 24, 2022, in Arizona," the FAA said in a statement on Thursday. "The attempted stunt resulted in the crash of one of the two single-engine Cessna 182 aircraft. The lead pilot requested an exemption for the stunt from the FAA, which the agency denied."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/pilots-who-unsuccessfully-attempted-first-ever-plane-swap-have-licenses-revoked-by-faa/ar-AAXd4S0

[ZonkerHarris]

1. Darwin tried.

[Hekate]

2. What a pair of idiots. They could have killed not only themselves but many others, as well as ...

… setting off a ferocious wildfire in Arizona — which is already battling the worst wildfire ever.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. +100!

[PoliticAverse]

5. Yeah, really. How did someone ever think doing that was a good idea? n/t

[musclecar6]

4. It's been

My experience that sky divers as a group tend to enjoy pushing limits and sometimes go to far. Ergo this stupid ass stunt that went awry.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. This was a dumb stunt

[sir pball]

7. Feh, the pilots are barely responsible - they should go after Red Bull HARD.

Yes yes, I know the Pilot In Command is the final authority, and these two chucklefucks certainly should never fly again - but I doubt they would have even imagined this, let alone actually done it, without Red Bull asking for it. Red Bull has been pushing their sponsorees to perform more and more extreme events for years now, many illegal and some literally deadly, yet they've never faced any consequences.

Honestly, if I ran the zoo, I'd be looking for a hundred-million-dollar fine and prohibiting them from sponsoring any events in America. They can take it from their Formula One budget, they'll have good savings from not being permitted to run in Austin.

[Emile]

8. They should give their license to the guy who landed that plane with no

pilot coming in from the Bahamas last week.

[MineralMan]

9. Good!