Swiss flight safety changes follow fatal F/A-18 crash

Ten years after an F/A-18 fighter jet crashed into a mountainside near the Susten Pass, killing its pilot, Swiss authorities and air traffic controller Skyguide have introduced changes to prevent similar accidents, SRF reported.

On the afternoon of August 29, 2016, two F/A-18s took off from Meiringen military airfield 15 seconds apart for a combat training flight. Visibility was poor, so the pilot of the second jet planned to follow the aircraft ahead by radar. The radar connection failed.

An air traffic controller in Meiringen then instructed the second pilot to climb to 10,000 feet, an altitude that was too low. The controller noticed the mistake but could no longer warn the pilot, who had already switched to the air traffic control frequency in Dübendorf.

Fifty eight seconds after the last radio communication, the fighter jet crashed into the western flank of Hinter Tierberg, about 11 metres below the ridge. The pilot died instantly and the aircraft was completely destroyed.

In March 2025, a court of second instance convicted the responsible air traffic controller of negligent homicide and imposed a suspended monetary penalty. The pilot of the aircraft ahead, who was also charged, was acquitted.

Skyguide continues to employ the controller. He most recently worked in training and is now retraining as a civilian air traffic controller after completing several tests and screenings, the company told SRF. Skyguide said it supported his return to air traffic control because, according to the court ruling, he had acted neither wilfully nor with gross negligence.

SRF aviation expert Michael Weinmann said the crash could not be attributed to a single wrong decision. Instead, he described a chain of circumstances: the controller was using an outdated radar system, the pilot should have realised that he was flying too low, and the radar connection with the other pilot could not be established.

After the crash, Skyguide improved the exchange of information by telephone between the air traffic control units involved. It also organised workshops for controllers and military pilots to improve their mutual understanding.

The Swiss Air Force replaced outdated radar and telephone systems in Meiringen and increased the interval between aircraft departures. It also changed emergency procedures for a failure or delay in radio communication with the ground station to reduce the possibility of a conflict with a minimum safety altitude. New flight profile diagrams were prepared for pilots, and the departure procedure from Meiringen is now trained regularly and specifically.

The crash was the last fatal accident involving a fighter jet in Switzerland. The Air Force says that, despite all the measures, pilots remain aware that a residual risk cannot be eliminated.