Pilot of crashed Swiss fighter jet found dead

The Swiss air force pilot whose F/A 18 fighter-jet crashed on Monday in the Susten Pass has been found dead, the Swiss Federal Department of Defence reported Wednesday morning in a statement.

The 27-year-old victim was piloting the single-seat aircraft during a training exercise when his plane went missing at around at about 4:30 p.m. local time (1430 GMT).

The plane's wreckage was spotted the following day in the suspected crash area in the Swiss Alps by one of the helicopters carrying out search and rescue operations.

It took another day of intensive efforts before the victim's body was located amongst the wreckage.

According to the defence ministry, the crashed F/A 18 was one of two planes which took off on Monday from Meiringen airbase to conduct a routine training exercise.

The pilot had responded to a first radio call but failed to reply to the second. According to local Swiss media reports, the fighter-jet was flying in a thick layer of cloud when the incident took place.

An investigation has been instigated by Swiss military authorities, and operations to recover the debris of the wreckage located at 3,000 metres above sea-level have been kicked off.

Source: XINHUA