Luke Aikins, 48, and Andy Farrington, 39, were attempting to swap planes via a daring stunt in the skies above Eloy, Arizona in the US, but the cousins’ plan ended in failure when one aircraft spiralled out of control
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Pilots attempt ‘plane swap’ while skydiving
A daredevil stunt has gone badly wrong after an attempt to swap planes in mid-air ended with one aircraft plunging thousands of feet to the ground.
Luke Aikins, 48, and Andy Farrington, 39, from Arizona in the US, had attempted the never-before-seen stunt but couldn’t finish the escapade after one of the planes nosedived out of control and crashed.
The daring stunt was supposed to see the pair fly their Red Bull-sponsored Cessna planes before leaving the aircraft and freefalling into the other plane, the Daily Star reports.
The maneuver began well, with the cousins leaping out of their respective aircrafts in a pre-prepared formation.
But within moments, Luke’s plane lost control and nosedived to the ground.
Pilot Luke Aikins is seen successfully entering the silver plane, during the stunt in Arizona on Sunday
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Image:
www.redbullmediahouse.com)
Luckily neither man was injured in the flight, with Luke’s plane tipping over the planned 90 degree dive, leaving Andy with no plane to commandeer.
Thankfully, Andy abandoned his plans of flying the failing aircraft and instead parachuted safely to the ground, while his cousin took control of the remaining plane.
Andy said: “It just went and instead of stopping in that 90-degree dive, it just kept going and got over on his back. It was just not a chance.”
Luke and Andy are reunited after the stunt on Sunday
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Image:
www.redbullmediahouse.com)
Luke said: “I thought I left Andy a good plane. I’m trying to think of what else I could have done to make it better for him when I left. We do what we can to prepare for this stuff and we hope it never happens.
This is the best outcome of a bummer situation, really. You’re just happy everybody’s here and good and all that stuff, but just disappointed.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says it did not grant a safety permit for the stunt livestreamed on streaming platform Hulu, Daily Mail reports.
At the end of last year, another air stunt left people on the ground as a huge cargo plane weaved in between several skyscrapers.
The pair are members of the US Red Bull Air Force team (Pictured: Luke)
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Image:
Red Bull/Triangle News)
In September, the C-17A Globemaster III cruised over Brisbane in Australia, following the path of the city’s river and wending its way past buildings.
Even though the flight, which took place on Thursday as a practice run for the finale of the Brisbane Festival today, was advertised ahead of time, some were left shaken.
NBC senior executive Mike Sington saw the footage on Twitter and said it brought him back to 9/11.
Posting a video, he said: “No, no, no, just no.
“A Royal Australian Air Force jet weaves through the skyscrapers of downtown Brisbane, on purpose.
“It was a rehearsal for an air show, causing immediate flashbacks to 9/11.”
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