Light aircraft crashes at Basel-Mulhouse Airport
Police had to close the main runway at Basel-Mulhouse Airport after a small plane crashed on the runway while it was trying to land in thick fog. One person died in the accident, which caused flight delays and cancellations.
Police and emergency services rushed to the scene after a private Piper PA-34 Senaca aircraft crashed on landing and caught fire at 17.41pm on Wednesday evening, the airport External linkdeclared. The main runway was closed after the crash. Normal air traffic resumed four hours later from 21:40 onwards, an airport spokesperson told swissinfo.ch.
The plane, which was registered to a flight school at the airport, was returning from Germany. According to local media sources, the airport was enveloped in thick fog at the time of the accident.
The fire brigade put out the fire, but according to the airport, one person died in the accident. However, it is not clear if it was the pilot or a passenger. An investigation has been opened.
Flights to and from the regional airport 3.5km northwest of Basel were severely affected. A journalist from Swiss public television, SRF, said all flights appeared cancelled tonight, adding that there was a ‘certain degree of chaos’ at the airport. Many flights due to land at Basel-Mulhouse Airport were diverted to Zurich.
Alle Flüge am #EuroairportExternal link sind annulliert. Es herrscht einigermassen Chaos. #BaselExternal link pic.twitter.com/t9WY5hoCU9External link
— Georg Halter (@georg_halter) December 7, 2016External link
British Airways told the Daily Telegraph its 5.27pm BA749 flight to Heathrow would not take place on Wednesday night, and a flight in the opposite direction would be delayed until Thursday.
A BA spokesman said: “We are looking after customers and re-booking them on to alternative flights to minimise disruption to their travel plans.”
Easyjet was warning customers its 9.10pm flight from the Swiss city to Gatwick would be delayed because of a “runway closure”.
There are reports that Arsenal fans are among the hundreds stranded External linkat the airport after they watched their side beat Basel 4-1 on Tuesday night in the Champions League in the city in northwest Switzerland.
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.