3. Jumping INTO An Airplane!

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Key Takeaways:

  • The article details multiple instances of wingsuit flyers successfully flying into the open doors of airplanes mid-flight.
  • Notable events include a 2017 leap by Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet into a Pilatus PC-6, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Patrick de Gayardon's pioneering stunt.
  • A more recent and controversial 2022 attempt by two pilots to swap planes mid-flight resulted in one plane crashing and drew significant disapproval from the FAA.
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This is as crazy as it sounds, but on two separate occasions, a total of three wingsuit flyers flew into the open doors of an airplane. The most recent and presumably last such leap was accomplished in 2017 by Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet, who lept from an alpine peak and flew into the open doors of a Pilatus PC-6. They made the jump on the 20th anniversary of the first such successful leap, by French wingsuiter Patrick de Gayardon. 

*Editor’s note: Okay, this is one “last” that didn’t stay that way. In 2022, a pair of pilots infamously attempted to bail out of their respective Cessna 182s and fly into the other pilot’s plane. One of them managed to do that, while the other had to parachute to safety, with the plane crashing catastrophically (with no injuries on the ground.) The FAA, as you might imagine, wasn’t amused.

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