Aircraft

A pilot, trying to reach the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in record time, has died after crashing his small aircraft into an apartment building and playground in Basel, Switzerland.

News sources said that the single-engine aircraft crashed into an apartment building and a playground in Basel, Switzerland, on 22 July, shortly after taking-off from EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, across the border in France.

Schmid was trying to break a world record for a solo single-engine flight over 4,970 miles, aiming to reach the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 30 hours. The plane was fuelled by 450 gallons of kerosene.

Veteran pilot, Hans Georg Schmid, died on impact with the building and playground and injured three people on the ground.  

His body was found in the park, said Klaus Mannhart, spokesman for Basel cantonal police.

Schmid who was attempting to break a speed record was a former Swissair pilot, logging more than 16,000 hours of flight experience during three decades at the former national carrier.

Schmid designed the plane, called the "Express 2000 ER," and was planning to use it to fly around the world twice later this year, according to Lycoming Engines, the company that built the engine.

He has set world records circumnavigating the globe in both eastbound and westbound directions using a homemade plane he designed. His new attempts would have been northbound and southbound, crossing the North Pole and Antarctica on each trip, Lycoming says on its website.

The company said Schmid held more than 160 aviation world records in all. The new plane had a successful initial flight last month, according to the Experimental Aviation Association of Switzerland.

Related external link

• See the small aircraft prior to its crash
• CBS news