Picture shows wreckage Pilot dies in plane crash in the canton of Bern

A small plane crashed in Ochlenberg in the canton of Bern on Monday afternoon. The wreckage of a so-called Jet-Cri-Cri - the smallest twin-engine manned aircraft in the world - came to rest upside down in a meadow. The pilot did not survive the crash.

At around 13:30 on Monday, an aircraft accident occurred in Ochlenberg in the canton of Bern. A small aircraft crashed into a meadow for reasons that are still unclear. Images from the scene show the deformed wreckage, which came to a standstill lying on its back.

The tail unit with the Swiss cross can still be seen in the pictures. The area was cordoned off on a large scale; the Bern cantonal police, fire department and rescue services were deployed.

According to the Bern cantonal police, the emergency services immediately deployed to the scene were only able to determine that the man had died. "The deceased was a 64-year-old Swiss national from the canton of Solothurn", according to a press release.

It is currently not known where the plane took off from or where it was originally supposed to fly to. The exact cause of the accident is being investigated by the Bern cantonal police in coordination with the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB) under the direction of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland.

The aircraft involved in the accident is a Jet-Cri-Cri - a plane with a special history. The model was developed in the 1970s by French designer Michel Colomban and is considered the smallest twin-engine manned aircraft in the world.

The home base of this aircraft is in Langenthal. In recent years, it was converted to turbine propulsion and was in an active test flight program at the time of the crash.

Note: This text was supplemented after initial publication with information on the fate of the pilot.