Red Bull Pilots to Swap Planes in Midair

How does Red Bull stunt end?

  • Both planes and pilots survive unscathed

    Votes: 36 40.0%

  • One plane or pilot impacts obstacle at speed

    Votes: 22 24.4%

  • Multiple casualties and/or damage to both planes

    Votes: 6 6.7%

  • Nothing happens after this

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Temporary suspension by FAA of two pilots

    Votes: 2 2.2%

  • Revocation by FAA of two pilots

    Votes: 19 21.1%

  • All Red Bull personnel with certificates have them revoked

    Votes: 5 5.6%

  • Other

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    90
That announcer is complete garbage. He should be praising that one worked and not the whole “one almost died narrative”. The guy never even got close to it.
 
So, uh, does Red Bull get Trevor Jacob'd for this??? I mean, murdering a 182 for a stunt is at least as bad as a BC-12, no?

Also: Called it!
 
Katamarino said:
I'm betting some suit from marketing is insisting they can't show it as their logos are on it.
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Oh, I’m sure. It’s ridiculous though. Everybody knows it didn’t make it.

Do I bother watching the rest, hoping they show it? No, I don’t think I will.
 
Called it. Next question: will they try again?
 
Piperonca said:
Called it. Next question: will they try again?
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Depends if the "stunt" translates into more drink sales. Who's gonna back it?

I spent three hours watching, I'm not the least bit thirsty for a Red Bull. Never even had one.
 
So what happened? Sounds like one plane lawn darted. Neither pilot died. Did they both exit their plane? Did one or both get back in the other plane? We're they wearing chutes?
 
The one guy keeps saying it just floated down...am I hearing that right? I'm watching it on Hulu. Missed it live. If that were the case surely they'd show the plane and not the smoking hole I suspect.
 
luvflyin said:
So what happened? Sounds like one plane lawn darted. Neither pilot died. Did they both exit their plane. Did one or both get back in the other plane? We're they wearing chutes?
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Both exited at the same time. One plane went into a spin almost immediately. The other was successfully "swapped". Pilot without a plane parachuted down
 
... and the plane that entered a spin apparently had a BRS (or similar) parachute system of its own that was deployed when it got below some altitude. That's based on the post-jump commentary, because of course THEY DIDN'T SHOW IT!
 
I'm good with it. I'm glad nobody got hurt. Now we could use an announcement from the FAA that it's time to stop doing stupid things with airplanes. This really does seem like the corporate version of the guy that jumped out of a plane with fire extinguishers strapped to himself.
 
Even though the word "heading" was used during the broadcast, I think they were really using a 071 degree track, which makes sense to avoid collateral damage. The red shows an approx 071 track, the blue shows scattered homes in the vicinity.

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They might not be amateurs, but I don't think I'd put this particular road-runner/coyote escapade on the top of my resume.
 
Saw one news report that FAA had denied a waiver but Red Bull went ahead anyway. Anyone know? If so, I wonder if one or both pilots gets Trevor Jacobed....
 
Ok, My vote was wrong. I still maintain it was pointless and stupid, but I didn’t think they would do this without a waiver.
 
Piperonca said:
Sure enough: https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news...Monday,+April+25,+2022&PC=OUTLIOS&FORM=OUTLSB
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Whoa. Holy bad decisions Batman. What, like 3 days after they came down on Trevor Jacob? Imagine how nervous these guys must be, as the FAA can't just let this go. I thought this was kind of dumb from the start, but never dreamed redbull would sponsor a stunt like this after being denied a waiver.

The picture of that crunched 182 makes me sick, so I won't feel even a little bad when these guys get their revocation letters.
 
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The lack of video of the plane coming down under the chute and hitting the ground was noticeable. With the number of cameras running, it’s hard to believe it wasn’t captured on video.

Is it possible the manufacturer of the chute was a sponsor and had asked that as a condition of sponsorship that if the chute failed it would not be aired? Just a thought.

As an aside, we had switched away with about an hour to go to takeoff. Came back and there was still an hour to go! I thought it was always a live feed, but apparently we had unknowingly paused it and were about an hour behind. Then I saw the comment here about “One out of two ain’t bad”. SPOILER ALERT!!! Anyway, still exciting to watch even delayed and suspecting the outcome.
 
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...ull-plane-swap-stunt-resulted-crash-rcna25795

BTW, they weren't supposed to be doing this:
"The FAA will investigate Sunday evening’s attempted Red Bull Plane Swap in Arizona," the statement said. "The agency on Friday denied the organizer’s request for an exemption from Federal regulations that cover the safe operation of an aircraft."
Edit: I see this posted elsewhere, but it's easier to find here, and there doesn't appear to be a Delete button.
 
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I see from the Today Show that the stunt failed and the FAA did not give permission for this. I hope people fry over this one! I am glad no one got hurt but things could have been even worse. What a shame!
 
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geezer said:
Red Bull doesn't care who gets hurt, or what gets wrecked, as long as people watch.

They have as much moral character as Putin.
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I don't doubt you (ok maybe I do) but is this really true? I'm asking because I really don't follow any red bull stuff but I know it's mostly "extreme sports", which people are doing on their own with or without red bull. but I guess it gets more attractive to do when there's $ponsorship. so is there a history of deaths/accidents and if so, is it the extreme sport causing it or red bull? and yeah, of course they want the views.
 
It was pretty stupid not to get FAA approval before doing all the prep work, arranging video and streaming, buying airplanes, etc. When the denial came, they were pretty far committed.
 
Does anybody think there was any chance whatsoever of the FAA approving a waiver to intentionally leave a plane with no pilot?
 
Salty said:
Does anybody think there was any chance whatsoever of the FAA approving a waiver to intentionally leave a plane with no pilot?
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Well, they do allow drones and UAVs of various sizes, so I could see it happening. But not now.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Well, they do allow drones and UAVs of various sizes, so I could see it happening. But not now.
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Drones and UAVs are still generally pilot controlled, and even when not, it's not comparable to a 182.
 
Half Fast said:
It was pretty stupid not to get FAA approval before doing all the prep work, arranging video and streaming, buying airplanes, etc. When the denial came, they were pretty far committed.
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It's hard to not see an emergency revocation of the 2 pilot's certificates. They seem like nice guys, but with a waiver denial in hand, what were they thinking???
 
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