A Junkers Ju-52/3m aircraft, operated by Ju-Air, was destroyed in an accident in a mountainous area in Switzerland.
All 17 passengers and three crew members were killed.
The aircraft crashed into the western slope of Piz Segnas at an elevation of 2540 m.
The aircraft is regularly used by Ju-Air on sightseeing flights out of Dübendorf Airport.
The aircraft had departed Locarno, Switzerland, at 16:10 on a flight to it’s home base at Dübendorf.
The crash site is located on the western flank of the Piz Segnas at 2540 meters above sea level.
The Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) imposed an airspace block for the area. The cause of the crash is investigated by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office together with the Sust, the public prosecutor’s office Graubünden and the canton police Graubünden. The accident site is guarded during the night.
The rescue services are deployed with a large contingent. Three civilian helicopters and two Rega helicopters are in action.
Already in the morning an airplane crashed in Switzerland: In Hergiswil NW four people were killed in a plane crash.
Airplane of Ju-Air
According to an aviation expert, the crashed aircraft is a Ju-52 – also called Aunt Ju. The plane has space for 17 passengers and two pilots. Ju-Air confirmed on her website that this is her plane.
The Dübendorf airline writes in a statement on Saturday evening: “We have the sad duty to inform that on Saturday afternoon, August 4, 2018, a Ju-52 of JU-AIR has died in the canton of Grisons.”
