The defence ministry said the incident happened in an uninhabited area near the resort of Melchsee-Frutt in central Switzerland on Wednesday.
The pilot, who was on a training ride as a “sparring partner” for two other air force fighters, managed to eject before the plane went down. Details of the cause of the crash are as of yet unknown.
The plane was a Northrop F-5 Tiger model – one of two types of fighters currently operated by the Swiss air force, along with the Boeing F/A-18.
The Swiss army has 26 F-5 Tigers, purchased in 1978, and used now only for training purposes, in daylight and in clear weather conditions.
Last September, a slim majority of Swiss voters approved the granting of CHF6 billion ($6.7 billion) in credit to the Swiss air force to renew its ageing fleet by 2030. The procurement process, involving two American and two European manufacturers, is ongoing. The model chosen is to be announced before the end of next month.
The air force has suffered a few crashes over the past decade, including a F/A-18 that went down in the French Jura in 2015 (for which the pilot was last year acquitted of negligence) and a collision between two Swiss F-5s in the Netherlands in 2016, caused by pilot error.
This content was published on
The UN Human Rights Council approved the launch of this mechanism in Geneva on Friday, to be followed by an International Commission of Inquiry.
More than 100 wolves shot in Switzerland last year
This content was published on
Swiss hunters legally killed 101 wolves between February 1, 2024, and the end of January 2025. A further six died in accidents or from natural causes.
Swiss health office turns to Bluesky against backdrop of US censorship
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has joined the Bluesky social network, while US President Donald Trump works with X owner Elon Musk to censor content on official US websites.
Biotech company BioVersys is first Swiss IPO of 2025
This content was published on
The Basel-based biotech company BioVersys made the first initial public offering (IPO) of the year in Switzerland on Friday.
Much more spent on Swiss motorway vote campaigns than budgeted
This content was published on
Opponents and supporters of motorway expansion spent over CHF10 million ($11 million) on their campaigns, around a third more than announced in November.
Swiss researchers monitor animal populations with AI microphone
This content was published on
Researchers in Lausanne are using an intelligent microphone to make the animal world audible. The microphone automatically records animal sounds over large areas and analyses them using AI.
Three employees of Swiss aid organisation killed in DRC
This content was published on
Three employees of the Swiss Protestant Reformed Church (Heks) have been killed in an attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They were on a humanitarian mission in the crisis region.
This content was published on
All our waters today are pure at source," Muriel Lienau, general manager of Nestlé Waters, told AFP after press revelations.
Switzerland concerned about impact of US withdrawal from WHO
This content was published on
Switzerland has expressed concern about the loss of American experts and the freezing of contracts due to the announced withdrawal of the US from the World Health Organization (WHO).
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
Crashes affect Swiss Air Force’s overseas projects
This content was published on
Switzerland’s participation in air defence exercises of NATO’s Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) next year is unlikely given the shortage of jets due to crashes and maintenance issues. The TLP for 2017 will probably be cancelled, air force spokesperson Jürg Nussbaum told German-language paper NZZ am Sonntag on Sunday. Apart from the 10 NATO countries, pilots…
This content was published on
By a margin of just 9,000 votes, Swiss citizens have given a cautious all-clear for a multi-billion purchase of new fighter jets for the air force.
Military pilot acquitted of negligence over 2015 crash
This content was published on
A Swiss military court has acquitted a Swiss pilot accused of negligence after he ejected from a plane in 2015 before it crashed.
This content was published on
Despite insufficient visibility, the pilot flew based on what he could see rather than what the navigational instruments were telling him, the court found. This cost him his life when the PC-7 plane crashed into the Schreckhorn mountain (altitude 4,080m / 13,386ft) near Grindelwald. The small Pilatus propeller plane had taken off from the Payerne…
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.