Accident between two aircraft of the Swiss aerobatic patrol Patrouille Suisse: What we know

During a training session, two aircraft of the Patrouille Suisse aerobatic patrol made contact in mid-flight. All aircraft were able to land safely and the pilots were unharmed.

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According to Swissinfo, two F-5 Tiger aircraft, which were part of a formation practicing for the 31st Federal Yodel Festival in the canton of Zug (central Switzerland), collided during one of the aerobatic maneuvers.

As a result of this accident, the radar nose cone of one of the planes broke off and hit a house in the vicinity of the village of Baar, damaging the facade of the building and slightly injuring one person with broken glass. The braking parachute of the other impacted aircraft deployed in mid-air, but caused no damage and was subsequently recovered.

All seven aircraft participating in the practice session landed without major complications and no pilots were injured, according to the Swiss government.

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Bei einem Training der @patrsuisse im Raum Baar/Zug touchierten sich heute Vormittag zwei Flugzeuge. Sämtliche Flugzeuge konnten anschliessend sicher landen. Die Piloten blieben unverletzt. Weitere Abklärungen sind derzeit im Gang. pic.twitter.com/1V0grmUIh6

— VBS – DDPS (@vbs_ddps) June 15, 2023

The Swiss Ministry of Defense decided to suspend the participation of the Patrouille Suisse in the Yodel festival and to initiate a thorough investigation to determine the reasons for the accident, which fortunately ended without serious damage or severe injuries.