romandie/ats, Fre - The German military Tornado that crashed near Lauterbrunnen Thursday, killing the 27-year-old pilot and injuring the 34-year-old officer with him, was flying lower than is normal for Swiss military jets, officials said at a press conference Friday afternoon. The cause of the crash remains unknown and a military as well as a penal invetigation have been opened. The surviving officer was well enough to be questioned. They were flying by sight rather than by instrument.
Swiss military officials said that some 200 "navigation" exercises, such as the ones the Tornado was doing, are carried out every year in Switzerland by foreign military pilots. As many exercises are carried out by Swiss pilots abroad.