3. Jumping INTO An Airplane!

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Key Takeaways:

  • Wingsuit flyers have successfully flown into the open doors of an airplane on multiple occasions, most notably by Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet in 2017, commemorating the 1997 pioneering leap by Patrick de Gayardon.
  • In 2022, a separate incident involved two pilots attempting to switch planes mid-air; one successfully entered the other's Cessna 182, while the other's plane crashed after a failed attempt, leading to FAA disapproval.
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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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