Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Parachutists jump off Swiss plane just before fatal crash

wreckage
Wreckage of the plane. KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / PETER KLAUNZER

The pilot was killed in the crash but the 11 parachutists on board were able to jump out in time and land safely.

The plane crashed in a field near Grenchen in canton Solothurn shortly after 2pm on Sunday.

The fate of the pilot was initially unknown. His death was confirmed in the evening. The plane that crashed belongs to the Skydive parachute school in Grenchen, the school’s director told the press agency Keystone-SDA.

The reasons for the crash are being investigated by the police and the relevant authorities. Several patrols of the Solothurn cantonal police, the Grenchen fire brigade and the Swiss Transport Safety Investigation Board are involved.

Images from the scene show the wreckage of the aircraft. According to a witness quoted by the online media 20 Minuten, which first reported the accident, the aircraft fell vertically to the ground.

Grenchen is one of Switzerland’s major regional aerodromes. According to the operator, it handles some 60,000 flight movements a year.

Translated from French by DeepL/ac

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

2300-year-old coin discovered at Augusta Raurica in Augst BL

More

Swiss dig unearths 2300-year-old Roman coin

This content was published on A bronze coin from the 3rd century BC has been discovered during excavations in the Roman town of Augusta Raurica - the first find of its kind in Switzerland

Read more: Swiss dig unearths 2300-year-old Roman coin
Costs for rail expansion by 2035 significantly higher than previously planned

More

Swiss rail expansion bill nearly doubles as extra costs mount up

This content was published on The expansion of the rail infrastructure up to 2035 will be significantly more expensive than previously planned. In addition to the CHF16.4 billion already approved by Parliament, a further CHF14 billion will be required.

Read more: Swiss rail expansion bill nearly doubles as extra costs mount up

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR