Four killed in second chopper crash in 48 hours
Four people have died in a helicopter crash in Erstfeld in central Switzerland. The accident happened near the Kröntenhütte mountain hostel on Monday morning.
According to the local police, all four victims were from canton Uri. The aircraft belonged to the Swiss Helicopter Group and was based in Erstfeld.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. At a media conference, the Swiss Helicopter Group said that the pilot had four years of experience and that the aircraft – a Eurocopter – was only a year old.
In addition, the maneuver was routine and the weather conditions good. On board were the pilot, two helpers and a technician.
The accident occurred roughly 48 hours after a helicopter went down in canton Ticino, also killing four people.
In Saturday’s crash, the helicopter’s main rotor had clipped a rock face in a quarry. A flight attendant and one passenger managed to jump out before the craft went down in Iragna; the pilot and three other passengers died.
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