Swiss military jet crash: public prosecutor seeks suspended prison sentences

Over seven years after the fatal F/A-18 military jet accident in Switzerland, an air traffic controller and a chief pilot have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. The prosecutor called for suspended prison sentences for both of them.

On the second day of the military trial into the fatal crash of an F/A-18 military jet in 2016 on the Susten Pass, the air traffic controller accused of negligent homicide said that he had realised too late that an altitude error had been passed on to the pilot and referred to “a high level of stress”.

The Skyguide air traffic controller based in Meiringen, in canton Bern, where the patrol of two F/A-18 jets had taken off on August 29 2016, mistakenly assigned an inadequate minimum altitude to the 27-year-old pilot. Unfortunately, in poor visibility conditions, the pilot crashed into a rock face. The instructed minimum altitude was 10,000 feet (3048 meters) instead of the required 15,000 feet (4572 meters).

“I suppose I made a slip of the tongue,” the accused told the Military Court 2 meeting in Muttenz, in the canton of Basel Country. He only realised this when he spoke to the emergency centre, the air traffic controller added.

By then it was too late to warn his colleague based in Dübendorf, Zurich, who had taken over. The crash occurred on Bernese soil, at an altitude of 3319 metres, eleven metres below the ridge, 58 seconds after the erroneous indication of the minimum altitude to be observed. The examining magistrates were not able to rely on the black box, which was destroyed by the impact.

Separation of flight orders

The pilot leading the patrol, who also faced charges, deviated from the prescribed take-off procedure, preventing his fellow pilot in formation from connecting to the same radar. The Skyguide air traffic controller noticed that the radar echoes of the two aircraft were overlapping and “instinctively” decided to issue separate flight instructions.

“If I hadn’t done so, the two fighter jets might have collided”, the accused pointed out. He then concentrated on separating the flight instructions. “That’s my main mission”, he said.

The chief pilot denies any responsibility

While the air traffic controller admitted his error, the same cannot be said of the chief pilot who was leading the patrol ahead of his young comrade who died.  “I am not guilty”, he told the senior judge who was questioning him.

He contested the prosecution’s accusation that he had failed to comply with the flight procedure during take-off by flying at a speed lower than stipulated by the directives. He maintained that, from his perspective, the speed was not excessively low.

He acknowledged hearing the two radar stall announcements from the other aircraft but countered: “This doesn’t constitute an emergency situation requiring immediate action.” He emphasised his inability to intervene, as he wasn’t remotely controlling his pursuer.

Prosecutor calls for suspended prison sentences

On Friday, the military prosecutor requested suspended prison sentences of one year and nine months for the two defendants in the fatal crash of an F/A-18 on the Susten Pass. The air traffic controller and pilot face a probationary period of two years, the minimum allowable, as they made efforts to rectify their mistake.

According to the prosecutor, had the chief pilot not violated the precautionary rules during take-off, the younger pilot would not have been forced to contact the air traffic controller for instructions, leading to the unfortunate incident.

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