The Federal Office for Civil Aviation confirmed on Tuesday that the pilot would lose his licence for two months, but it stopped short of a permanent ban, saying the pilot’s aptitude was not in question.
The experienced pilot has already been fined of CHF800 ($800) and a criminal investigation against him is still pending.
The incident occurred last November, when a tourist from the United States on his first-ever hang glider trip as a passenger found himself not strapped in properly as the glider left the ground.
The pilot tried an emergency landing on a meadow outside the popular tourist resort of Interlaken in the Swiss Alps with the passenger hanging on to him.
The tourist suffered several injuries including a fracture to his right wrist shortly before the glider was able to land.
The video footage below of the frightening flight experience, published on YouTube, went viral.
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
‘Pressure will increase on Switzerland to invest more in defence’
This content was published on
Markus Mäder, Switzerland's state secretary for security policy, believes that more cooperation is needed in order to strengthen defence in Europe.
Just one in five Swiss attend a religious service at Easter
This content was published on
Only one in five people in Switzerland attend a religious service during the Easter period or give up meat or alcohol for at least one day of fasting. Around 25% of those polled see Easter primarily as a family holiday, according to the survey.
Major road disruptions continue after heavy snowfall in parts of Switzerland
This content was published on
The snowfall has ended in the southern Swiss canton of Valais, the cantonal emergency services said on Friday. Several roads, however, remain closed.
Swiss businessman gets prison term for asbestos deaths
This content was published on
Stephan Schmidheiny has been sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison by the Turin Court of Appeal in a case against the former Eternit executive over deaths linked to asbestos exposure in Italy.
This content was published on
Swiss imports and exports reached new heights in the first quarter, driven by the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors. Shipments to the US rose sharply.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Search suspended for US speed-flyer missing in Alps
This content was published on
Harrison FastExternal link, 28, from Boulder, Colorado, was speed-flying in the Jungfrau region in the Bernese Alps when the six-person group he was with lost sight of him and alerted the authorities. Christoph Gnägi, a spokesman for Bern cantonal police, said on Tuesday that extensive air and surface searchers were undertaken for three days. He…
This content was published on
The aircraft had left the Bex airfield in canton Vaud and crashed around 3pm into the southern side of the Mont Blanc massif at Val Ferret, above Courmayeur. The wreckage was found at an altitude of around 2,500m by the Aosta Valley mountain rescue team after being alerted by hikers who had heard the crash.…
This content was published on
What makes people risk their lives jumping off tall cliffs? swissinfo.ch goes to the cliff's edge with the elite – and relative newcomers – to find out.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.