Four dead in Cirrus SR20 small aircraft crash in Lungau, Austria

A tragic plane crash in Lungau claimed the lives of four people after the Cirrus SR20 small aircraft registered D-ESFB went down.

Contrary to initial reports, the aircraft was not a motor glider, and it was en route from Zagreb (ZAG/LDZA), Croatia, to Schärding am Inn airfield (LOLS) in Upper Austria. The crash occurred over the Tauern valleys of the Lungau region, and challenging flying conditions, including dense clouds and wind turbulence, were observed due to impending winter weather and icing. Eyewitnesses described the plane’s erratic movements before it plummeted to the ground.

The difficult terrain required the efforts of more than a hundred firefighters, rescue workers, and police to reach the crash site. Tragically, there were no survivors, and the victims included the pilot from Upper Austria, another pilot from Upper Austria, a passenger from Salzburg, and a passenger from Germany.

The type of aircraft involved in the accident is equipped with an emergency parachute as standard, which is triggered using an explosive charge. However, since the rescue system had not been activated, a barrier of 150 metres had to be set up due to the risk of explosion. Two explosives experts from the Graz police then defused the emergency system, which was equipped with 800 to 1,000 grams of explosives.

The accident investigation is ongoing, and the cause of the crash remains unclear.