July 23
Basel, Switzerland - A veteran pilot trying to break a speed record was killed when his small, experimental plane crashed into an apartment building and playground in Basel, Switzerland. Three people on the ground were injured.
The crash occurred shortly after the single-engine plane took off from EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, across the border in France. It plowed through the attic of an apartment building in northwestern Basel before crashing in flames on the playground.
The pilot was identified as Hans Georg Schmid, a former Swissair pilot who logged more than 16,000 hours of flight experience during three decades at the former national carrier. His body was found in the park.
Schmid was trying to break a world record for a solo single-engine flight over 4,970 miles, aiming to reach Oshkosh, Wis., in 30 hours. The plane was fueled by 450 gallons of kerosene.
Schmid designed the plane, called the "Express 2000 ER," and was planning to use it to fly around the world twice later this year.
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.
Schmid held more than 160 aviation world records in all.
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