Luftwaffe Typhoon Collides with Learjet

Elpe (Jun24th) – During an exercise a Luftwaffe (German Air Force) Eurofighter Typhoon has collided with a Learjet 25 over western Germany. Consequently the Learjet crashed into an uninhabited area near the village of Elpe in the Sauerland Mountains, killing both pilots aboard, as media reported Tuesday. 

SAR helicopter at the crashside in the Sauerland Mountains. Pic: dpa.

Both aircraft were participating in an air war exercise, when the accident happened. A twoship formation of Eurofighter fast jets was to scramble and intercept the Learjet that was acting as a renegade airliner. If the pilots did not follow radar instructions or the Learjet was out of its flight path, remains unclear. Neither Luftwaffe nor the civil authorities (BFU) wanted to comment on the issue, speaking to AviationUpdate over the phone on Tuesday.

Three GFD LEarjet 25s performing formation flight. Pic: GFD website.

The crashed civil jet was operated by GFD, a civil contractor based at Hohn/Rendsburg AB on the Baltic coast, which provides aerial targets for armed forces practice. The Eurofighter Typhoon that belonged to Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31  “Boelcke” (Tactical Air Wing 31) flying from Nörvenich AB was also damaged in the collision. “It is an aviate masterpiece the pilot made it back to base with the heavily damaged fast jet,” Wing Commander Col. Andreas Hoppe told national news agency dpa yesterday.   

The mid-air crash is the second grave incident for Luftwaffe this year. In January a Tornado fast attack jet crashed near Büchel AB in western Germany whilst returning from a night training flight. The cause for the crash is still being investigated. Both pilots ejected safely back then when their jet crashed into a forest and debris hit a national motorway nearby. #

AU/pvk