Pending Review
Plane Swapping Gone Wrong
This is from CNN April 25,2022 with the following headline:
FAA investigating plane-swap stunt that resulted in crash
2 pilots who were also skydivers put their Cessnas into adjacent parallel dives, intending to swap planes. This didn’t work out as planned. One plane crashed and both pilots lived, assuming eligibility for an Honorable Mention Award. The FAA is investigating.
Submitted on 04/27/2022
Candi said:
Definitely Toss: Other.
Sorry, but on reading the articles, this sounds like a stunt gone wrong. Stunt and other such performers know exactly what they're getting into when they do their dangerous maneuvers.
Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
I'm more than willing to accept this as a potential HM. True, as Candi pointed out, these sorts of stunt performers know the risks involved, but in this particular case I tend to agree with the FAA which was quoted in the CNN article as denying permission for this stunt because it could have just as easily been performed with safety pilots in each aircraft. Link to CNN article: https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/25/us/arizona-plane-swap-stunt-crash/index.html
Tracy said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
Yes, they're stunt pilots - but the FAA denied the request to leave the planes empty during the televised stunt - so they didn't follow the rules - which I like to think of as "we know best"!