FAA Revokes Certificates of Two Pilots Involved in Plane-Swapping Attempt

Whatever happened to those two pilots who attempted to swap planes in mid-air — skydiving from one to the other while the planes slowly tumbled toward the desert 65 miles southeast of Phoenix?

The first pilot said all of their safety protocols worked, but the other pilot did not. What about the second plane, which was tumbling toward the ground without a pilot? According to footage from a local newscast, it fell 14,00 feet, nose first, and was slowed by a parchute. The skydiving pilots could overtake them if the planes slowed their fall. Red Bull sponsored the stunt.

Both pilots had previously conducted more than 20,000 skydives — "but there's a problem," that local newscast pointed out. "The FAA says it had denied Red Bull permission to attempt the plane swap because it would not be in the public's interest." So now both pilots — who'd had "commercial pilot certificates" from America's Federal Aviation Administration — have had their certificates revoked.

In a May 10 emergency order, the FAA describes the actions of the two pilots as careless and reckless, and they face fines. The rule that pilots must be at the helm with safety belts fastened at all times was petitioned for by Aikins. He argued that the stunt would promote aviation in science, technology, engineering and math, and that both pilots must surrender their certificates immediately.

Aikins had shared a statement on Instagram after the stunt, saying he made the "personal decision to move forward with the plane swap" despite the lack of the FAA exemption. "I regret not sharing this information with my team and those who supported me." "I am now turning my attention to cooperatively working transparently with the regulatory authorities as we review the planning and execution."