In 2022, cousins Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington decided to take on a stunt organized by Red Bull involving the two men swapping planes mid-air and landing. According to an investigation, Aikins and Farrington piloted two Cessna 182 airplanes in Eloy, roughly 65 miles southeast of Phoenix. While mid-flight, the pilots unfastened their seat belts and attempted to perform a plane swap by skydiving from one aircraft to the other as both planes dived vertically. Aikins was able to complete the stunt, but Farrington was unable to make it to Aikins’ aircraft, which subsequently crashed. According to Red Bull, the plane swap event was to make history as the first time two pilots took off in one plane while landing in another. The stunt, which was live-streamed on Hulu, involved hundreds of people and took around a year to prepare for. Aikins and Farrington, who had completed over 5,000 jumps together, were required to immediately turn in their commercial pilot certificates, master parachute certificates, and any other certificates to the FAA. The pilots filed an appeal, but it was denied by the NTSB in July 2025. They will not be able to fly again unless they wait one year and then go through the entire certification process again to qualify for their licenses.
