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Pilot guilty of causing Swiss air display crash

Patrouille Suisse aircraft on a display flight
Patrouille Suisse pilots felt 'untouchable', prosecutors complained at a military tribunal. Anthony Anex

A pilot of the Patrouille Suisse military aerobatic team has been blamed for causing a crash at an air show in the Netherlands in 2016.

A military tribunal convicted the pilot of negligent misuse of his aircraft and of squandering equipment.

Two F-5 Tiger aircraft collided during a diamond formation manoeuvre near to the Dutch city of Leeuwarden in June, 2016.

One aircraft crashed and its pilot suffered minor injuries after ejecting and landing in a greenhouse. The other aircraft was damaged but managed to land safely.

The accident resulted in CHF800,000 ($863,000) of damage. 

Investigations concluded that pilot error was likely to blame, a finding that was upheld by the military tribunal ruling released on Thursday.

Prosecutors at the tribunal complained that pilots felt “untouchable” and did not pay enough attention to the possibility of errors.

Patrouille Suisse resumed flying displays after an investigation but no longer performs that particular diamond formation.

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