A pilot decided to fly right between a line of skiers on the Swiss side of the Pennine Alps over the weekend — practically grazing some hikers in the process.
"I witnessed a near-tragedy," said mountaineer Luca Calzone, who shot the video during a ski-mountaineering race on Sunday and posted it to Instagram. "It was the day of the Mezzalama Trophy, thousands of ski mountaineers climbed to the top." His Instagram clip shows the small plane swooping down near the competitors, heading away from the crowd — at first. But then the pilot changes direction, and the speedy plane cuts right through a long line of people. (See video below.)
Fortunately, nobody was injured. But the pilot, who admitted his stunt was "a serious error of judgement," is now under federal investigation. Oops.
From Yahoo News!
The pilot, who could potentially be held criminally responsible and lose his license, is now under investigation by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA).
A FOCA spokesperson told the Keystone-ATS news agency that it had opened proceedings to "clarify the facts and take appropriate measures." …
In a letter published by Italian and Swiss media, the unnamed pilot said: "I am deeply sorry for the community that I love more than anything else. I hope this never happens to any of you." …
The Mezzalama Trophy is the third-highest ski-mountaineering race in the world. It pits 1,000 of the world's best racers against each other over 28 miles (45km) of unforgiving mountain terrain.
Previously: This feed reveals what pilots are really saying while you're in the air
