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 NTSB concluded that a ballast shift in one of the modified Cessna 182s caused it to stall and crash during the Red Bull Airplane Swap stunt.
During the stunt, one pilot successfully swapped planes and landed, while the other's target aircraft spun out of control and crashed after he exited.
The FAA had previously denied permission for the stunt, a fact one pilot admitted knowing but failed to disclose to his team.
As a result of the unauthorized stunt, the FAA revoked both pilots' certificates for one year and proposed a fine for one pilot due to multiple regulatory violations.
The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report regarding the crash of a Cessna 182 that was part of the Red Bull Airplane Swap stunt.
The stunt, which was streamed on Hulu on April 24, 2022, involved pilots and skydivers Luke Aikins, 48, and Andy Farrington, 39, flying a pair of modified C-182s.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
