A midair collision at an airshow in Switzerland Sunday killed one of the pilots involved. According to initial news reports two members of the three-ship Formation Grasshoppers team touched during a maneuver and both aircraft crashed. One pilot was reportedly able to parachute from his crippled aircraft. The Grasshoppers fly Ikarus C42 aircraft and do light formation aerobatics in the tiny aircraft. Reports said one of the aircraft apparently descended onto another during a maneuver. The accident occurred at the Dittingen Air Show near Basel.
At least one aircraft came down in the backyard of a home in the town while another appeared to have ended up on a residential street. There were no reports of injuries on the ground. The death of the pilot was announced to the crowd at the airport and the rest of the show was cancelled.
