Patrouille Suisse: Fighter jet display team fly-by misses town

Patrouille Suisse aircraftImage copyright
AFP/Getty

Image caption

The Patrouille Suisse are similar to the UK’s Red Arrows or the US Blue Angels

A Swiss aerial display team has performed a fly-by over the wrong town, surprising people at a yodelling festival taking place nearby.

The Patrouille Suisse were due to fly over Langenbruck to honour the centenary of a Swiss flying pioneer.

But instead the team flew over the nearby town of Mümliswil, which was hosting the 31st Northwest Yodelling Festival.

A spokesman for the Swiss Defence Ministry has apologised for the error.

The squadron – a Swiss version of the UK’s Red Arrows or the US Blue Angels – was due to perform for the 100th anniversary of the death of Oskar Bider.

Bider was the first person to fly over the Alps in both directions, a feat he accomplished in 1913 at the age of 22.

The aviator was born in Langenbruck. But the squadron leader saw the tent set up for the yodelling festival in Mümliswil, roughly 6km (4 miles) west of the town, and misdirected the jets.

A spokesman for the Swiss military told the German language Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper that the F-5E Tiger II aircraft were not equipped with GPS technology.

The yodel festival patrons are reported to have enjoyed the unexpected show.

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source: bbc.com