City of Grenchen expresses dismay over another plane crash
Published: Monday, Feb 19th 2024, 14:00
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The town of Grenchen SO has reacted with great sadness to the crash of a transport plane at Grenchen airfield. The pilot was killed on Sunday. This is another fatal accident within six months.
The Grenchen authorities are deeply shocked by the accident involving the transport aircraft belonging to the "Skydive Grenchen" association, the town council announced on Monday. They are "deeply shocked".
The single-engine plane crashed shortly after 2 p.m. on Sunday for reasons that are as yet unexplained. According to the Solothurn cantonal police, the pilot was alone on board at the time of the accident. He died at the scene of the accident.
Eleven people had previously parachuted out and landed safely on the ground. The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (Sust) launched an investigation to determine the exact circumstances and cause of the accident.
As the Grenchen town chancellery also announced, a minute's silence for the pilot who died in the accident will be held at the sports awards ceremony of the town and region of Grenchen at the end of March. At the event, some of the parachutists from "Skydive Grenchen" will be honored for their sporting achievements.
A small plane had already crashed near the airfield last September 9. The pilot and one passenger were killed. The single-engine plane crashed from a low altitude onto a meadow during its final approach. The Sust's final report on the cause of the accident is not yet available.
Serious incident in September 2020
According to a final report by Sust, the transport plane that crashed on Sunday was involved in a serious incident in September 2020. The pilot was about to drop parachutists over Grenchen airfield and initiated the return flight, according to the final report from July 2023.
At the same time, the pilot of a helicopter prepared for take-off. The air traffic controller gave clearance for take-off, which led through the active "parabox", the area reserved for parachutists. According to Sust, the plane and the helicopter came dangerously close to each other.
Both pilots stated that they had never seen the other aircraft. The serious incident was also not reported to Sust and only became known several months later, the report said. As a consequence, a standardized procedure was introduced for the air traffic controller.
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