Plane crash in Swiss town: skydiver’s parachute opened prematurely

Along with the pilot, the aircraft, which belonged to the Skydive Grenchen Parachute Club, had 11 skydivers on board. KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / PETER KLAUNZER

In a plane crash in the Swiss town of Grenchen in canton Solothurn on February 18, a skydiver’s reserve parachute opened while still in the aircraft. This was stated in a preliminary report published by the Swiss transport safety investigation board.

As a result of the reserve parachute opening, the skydiver crashed into the tailplane. The tailplane was then torn off the rest of the tail section, resulting in the plane crashing. The pilot, who was not wearing a parachute, died in the accident.

The aircraft had earlier taken off from Grenchen Airport with a group of skydivers and was due to return to Grenchen after the planned jump.

Along with the pilot, the aircraft, which belonged to the Skydive Grenchen Parachute Club, had 11 skydivers on board. According to the investigation board, the skydivers managed to jump, with one suffering minor injuries. The aircraft fell from an altitude of around 4,000 metres and had extensive damage upon impact with the ground.  

Pilot had no chance

The impact of the skydiver on the tailplane was a possible cause of the crash, said Hansjörg Bürgi, editor-in-chief of the aviation magazine Skynews. However, he “never imagined” that a plane’s rudder could be severed in the process.

“Without a tailplane, an aircraft is uncontrollable. A crash is inevitable,” he said. The pilot was probably taken by surprise. According to Bürgi, the pilot had no chance.

Bürgi added that a pilot normally wears a parachute when flying skydivers for a jump. It is currently unknown why in this instance the pilot was not wearing one.

One of the last jumpers

It is not clear why the skydiver’s reserve parachute opened. This is being clarified in the on-going investigation. The skydiver was by the door when the incident occurred. The Swiss transport safety investigation board writes of “a skydiver still on the aircraft”.

In response to an enquiry, it says that the person in question was one of the last of the eleven skydivers to jump from the aircraft. The final report on the crash will not be published until next year at the earliest, the safety investigation centre added.

Adapted from German by DeepL/mg/amva

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