Flight Incident – Pilot Berset Called Wrong – News


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According to the “SonntagsZeitung”, the French air traffic control called an incorrect aircraft registration number. Is that why Berset didn’t react?

French aviation security apparently made a serious mistake when checking Federal Councilor Alain Berset during a private flight. According to radio messages, she radioed the Federal Council incorrectly – which did not react, which ultimately triggered an air police operation.

Mistaken a letter

During his flight on July 5 from Ecuvillens near Freiburg to Châtellerault in western France, Berset was called three times by radio with the aircraft identification “HB-TOR”, but his rental aircraft actually bore the identification “HB-TDR”, reports the “Sunday newspaper”. She published online recordings of the radio messages.

Berset simply did not respond to the call because he did not feel addressed by the wrong name, aviation experts suspected to the newspaper. Berset has not commented.

The French authorities had wanted to contact the Cessna 182 rented by Berset because the prominent Swiss private pilot had illegally entered a restricted zone at the Avord military airfield.

Forced to land by French fighter jets

When Berset did not respond to the radio messages, French fighter jets escorted the Federal Council to Thouars and forced it to land there, according to official information. On the ground, the French gendarmerie checked the personal details of the Swiss pilot. After that, the Federal Council could fly on.

The “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” was the first to publicize the incident. It caused a great deal of interest in the Swiss media. The reactions ranged from amusement to demands for his resignation.

The Interior Minister, who has held a pilot’s license since 2009, occasionally rents a single-engine aircraft, according to the Interior Department. Accordingly, Berset was alone on board the flight in question to France.

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