AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2022 - 34

BRIEFING
NEWS /
Selfie pilot busted
Crash dummy fined; license revoked
BY NIKI BRITTON
THE FAA REVOKED the pilot certificate of Trevor Jacob, a former
Olympic snowboard competitor turned YouTuber, who posted a
viral video of himself parachuting out of a 1940 Taylorcraft that
he claimed had malfunctioned.
The video Jacob posted online showing his bailout and the
subsequent crash of the 1940 Taylorcraft has been viewed more
than 2.5 million times, and sparked criticism from pilots and
others in the aviation community. The footage taken from multiple
cameras, including a selfie stick, shows Jacob (who claims
to have just experienced an engine-out) leaping out of the aircraft
with his selfie stick in hand and parachuting to safety.
The Taylorcraft crashed into the Los Padres National Forest in
Southern California, and Jacob retrieved footage from cameras
he had mounted on the aircraft.
According to The New York Times, the FAA sent Jacob a letter
on April 11 advising that the agency had determined that Jacob
violated FAR 91.13 by operating his single-engine aircraft in a
" careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property
of another. "
The newspaper obtained a copy of that April 11 letter, apparently
before Jacob received his own copy, and elaborated on the
FAA's findings, including that, " Mr. Jacob made no attempt to
contact air traffic control on the emergency frequency, did not
try to restart the engine by increasing airflow over the propeller
and failed to look for a place to safely land, 'even though there
were multiple areas within gliding range in which you could
have made a safe landing.' After the crash, the agency noted that
Mr. Jacob also 'recovered and then disposed of the wreckage....
You demonstrated a lack of care, judgment,
and responsibility by choosing
to jump out of an aircraft solely so you
could record the footage of the crash....
Your egregious and intentional actions
on these dates indicate that you presently
lack the degree of care, judgment,
and responsibility required of a certificate
holder.' "
The FAA ordered Jacob to surrender
his private pilot certificate, adding
that failure to do so could result in
" further legal enforcement action, "
including a civil penalty of up to $1,644
for every day he does not comply.
niki.britton@aopa.org
34
AOPA PILOT / July 2022
More crash
dummies
Red Bull plane swap not successful
BY NIKI BRITTON
A L I VESTR EAM EVENT hosted by Red Bull and aired on Hulu
April 24 ended with the crash of one of two Cessna 182s involved
in an attempt by both pilots to simultaneously skydive into the
other aircraft. The FAA revoked the pilot certificates of the two
pilots after organizers moved forward with the stunt even though
the agency had denied an exception to regulations that require
aircraft to be piloted at all times.
Pilot Luke Aikins jumped from the blue Cessna 182 he took off
in, and into the silver Cessna 182 as planned. Pilot-skydiver Andy
Farrington parachuted to safety after the blue Cessna 182 entered a
spin and crashed in the Arizona desert. No injuries were reported.
The edited video of the event released by Red Bull shows the airframe
parachute deploying from the blue Cessna in a vertical dive,
but cuts to Farrington under his parachute canopy before the aircraft
impacts the Arizona desert near Eloy.
The event was advertised by Red Bull as a " world-first "
AOPA Air Safety Institute Senior Vice
President Richard McSpadden discusses
the legal implications of two recent highprofile
events under FAA investigation-one
involving YouTube star Trevor Jacob, and
the other a Red Bull-orchestrated skydiving
stunt that destroyed a Cessna 182-with
AOPA Deputy General Counsel Jared Allen
in this online video.
aopa.org/pilot/redbullstunt
livestream. The stunt involved putting the two Cessna 182s into a
synchronized nosedive at 14,000 feet,
with an airbrake deployed and autopilot
set to maintain the dive. Both pilots
then jumped out of their respective
aircraft to attempt to reach the other
aircraft in freefall. According to Red
Bull, the aircraft required " a custombuilt
autopilot system to ensure they
stay on the correct trajectory. " They
were " fitted with a speed brake and
larger than standard wheels to help
create more drag and slow the rate of
decent, as well as ensure the skydivers
can catch up to them. "
The FAA said it would investigate
the stunt. niki.britton@aopa.org
RED BULL CONTNET POOL
http://www.aopa.org/pilot/redbullstunt
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2022

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