Thuringia
Aerobatic collision – two pilots dead
The crash site with the debris of the two planes near Gera. photo
© Björn Walther/bw.pictures/dpa
Two aerobatic pilots collide with their machines near Gera. Any help comes too late for both of them. It is the second fatal accident near the East Thuringian airfield within a few weeks.
The two pilots died in a collision between two planes on the outskirts of Gera. The machines of the 42 and 73-year-old men collided during an aerobatic flight and crashed over a field near Thränitz on Saturday evening, the police said. No other people were harmed.
The cause and exact course of the accident were still unclear on Sunday, specialists from the Federal Institute for Aircraft Accident Investigation and the Gera criminal police took over the investigation. It is the second fatal plane crash near the East Thuringian airfield within a few weeks.
According to the airfield manager Peter Künast, there was no official aerobatic competition or show event in Gera-Leumnitz on Saturday. Gera-Leumnitz is a regular airfield and therefore open for take-off and landing of aircraft registered there. The accident happened outside the airfield property.
According to the website, aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of 5.7 tons are allowed to take off and land there. It is an airfield for both commercial and sport aviation.
Air accident investigation has started investigations
According to their own statements, the police and fire brigade were in action with a large contingent on Saturday evening. The area around the crash site was cordoned off over a large area. The first measures at the scene of the accident have now been completed. According to the fire department, specialists from the Federal Institute for Aircraft Accident Investigation arrived late in the evening to investigate the crash.
Just over a month ago, an ultralight aircraft crashed near the Gera-Leumnitz airfield. The 64-year-old pilot was killed. According to police reports at the time, the plane caught fire after the crash on Monday.