After a year of preparation and a test dive, two cousins attempted the first-ever mid-air plane swap in California this Sunday. However, everything did not go as planned. The cousins, Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington, are trained pilots and also members of the Red Bull Air Force aviation crew. As part of their daredevil stunt, they had planned to swap planes mid-air and land them safely. On Sunday night, they took off in their Cessna 182 single-seat engine and flew close to each other as planned. Both of them even managed to engage the custom-made air brakes to hold the aircrafts in place and then jumped out at a height of 12,100 feet, according to USA Today.
Their next move was supposed to be entering each other’s plane and taking control of it. But, while Aikins was able to enter the other plane, Farrington failed to do so. As Farrington dived towards the plane, it went out of control forcing him to deploy his parachute.
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
Farrington landed safely in a remote area while the uncontrolled plane was equipped with a parachute that got activated once the aircraft dropped to a certain altitude. Talking about the mishap, Farrington said “It just went and instead of stopping in that 90-degree dive, it just kept going over on his back.”
The cousins said that the faster wind speed during that day was suitable for the stunt. Meanwhile, the custom air brakes which had a significant role in stabilising the aircrafts mid-air were also tested multiple times, according to Aikins. He suspected that the plane might have lost its center of gravity during the nosedive that led to the mishap.
Now, the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the failed stunt. It said in a statement that while one pilot was able to land safely by parachute, the other regained control of the aircraft. It also added…