US pilots perform daring mid-air plane swap; watch how stunt ends
The pilots were attempting to board each other's planes while in mid-air, leaving both planes unattended. The two pilots intended to pitch their Cessna 182 aircraft into a synchronised nosedive at 14,000 feet by shutting off the engines and using a custom-made airbrake to keep the planes at a controlled drop speed of 140 mph.
FollowThe first-of-its-kind mid-air "plane swap" attempt by two stunt pilots on Sunday failed after one of the two planes involved spiralled out of control and crashed-landed in Arizona, US. The skydivers - cousins Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington, who were members of the Red Bull Air Force Aviation group - were safe, according to the New York Post, and no injuries were recorded.
The pilots were attempting to board each other's planes while in mid-air, leaving both planes unattended. The two pilots intended to pitch their Cessna 182 aircraft into a synchronised nosedive at 14,000 feet by shutting off the engines and using a custom-made airbrake to keep the planes at a controlled drop speed of 140 mph. The plan called for the pilots to depart their own planes and jump into each other's planes, crossing over each other mid-air and recovering control in under a minute.
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Only Aikins, however, was able to complete the feat. He skydived into Farrington's unmanned aircraft with success. Meanwhile, Farrington was unable to retain his balance, preventing him from skydiving into Aikins' plane.
Red Bull had stated on its website that the skydivers would attempt to swap as they plunged toward the ground. However, in the sky, everything went wrong, sending one jet into a spiral before falling to the ground in Arizona.
According to redbull.com, Aikins has conducted over 21,000 skydives, and his major goal is to continue his professional development. He was reared on a private airstrip where his grandpa started a skydiving centre in the 1960s after returning from the war as a P-47 pilot. Aikins made his first jump at the age of 16 and obtained his pilot's licence.
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