Debris lies at a crash site at Hohn Air Force Base
Source: dpa/Markus Scholz
It should be a completely normal training flight for the Learjet. But something goes wrong at the start. The machine crashes on the airfield site. Two people die. Experts from the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation are on site.
AA civilian Learjet crashed at Hohn Air Force Base in Schleswig-Holstein on Monday. Two people died, as a spokesman for Airbus confirmed. The machine of the subsidiary GFD (company for flight target display) fell on the ground at 12.45 p.m. inside the air force base.
The twin-engine Learjet was to start from Hohn for a training mission with air traffic controllers from the German Air Force in northern Germany. Out of Braunschweig Experts from the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation arrived immediately. They should start their examinations in the afternoon.
According to a spokesman for the police department Neumünster the machine lost altitude during the take-off phase and hit the side of the runway and crashed. The airport fire brigade was on site quickly, but could no longer help the occupants, he said. Both fatalities are therefore male. The spokesman could not provide any further information about age or origin.
Airbus sent its deepest condolences to the families affected by this tragic accident. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) reacted to the handover appeal of the Territorial Command in Berlin dismayed. “Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the two who died. You have our heartfelt condolences in these difficult hours. What caused the terrible accident and the death of two people is now the subject of the investigation.
Squadron disbanded in 2021
Air transport squadron 63 of the Luftwaffe was stationed in Hohn near Rendsburg for a long time. Transall machines took off from the airfield for many international missions. At the end of 2021, the squadron was disbanded. The airfield will continue to be operated by the Luftwaffe as an alternative airfield.
According to information on its website, the GFD has Learjets of the types LR-35A and LR-36A. The aircraft can be used for flight target display with and without towed targets. Flight target representations are required so that Bundeswehr units can practice sea or land-based air defense with guided missiles and barrel weapons.