FAA Investigating Failed Red Bull Airplane Swap

Agency says it had denied organizers’ request for permission to perform the stunt.

Monday, April 25, 2022 at 10:15 AM ET

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Pilot Luke Aikins is seen successfully entering the silver airplane, during Plane Swap in Eloy, Arizona, on April 24, 2022. [Photo: Predrag Vuckovic / Red Bull Content Pool]

Key Takeaways:

The Red Bull Plane Swap attempt failed, resulting in one of the modified Cessna 182s crashing after spinning out of control, though no injuries were reported.
The FAA had previously denied the organizers' request for an exemption from federal regulations covering safe aircraft operation and announced an investigation into the incident.
Pilots Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington attempted to swap planes in freefall after putting them into steep dives; Aikins successfully entered and landed his target plane, while Farrington had to deploy his parachute when his designated aircraft became uncontrollable.

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Sunday’s vigorously promoted Red Bull Plane Swap missed the mark in more ways than one. Not only did the swap fail, but the maneuver and resulting aircraft crash irked the FAA, which said it “will investigate Sunday evenings attempted Red Bull Plane Swap in Arizona.”

The agency also said that on Friday it “denied the organizer’s request for an exemption from Federal regulations that cover the safe operation of an aircraft.”