Swiss air force team apologises after fly-by in wrong place

The commander of the Swiss air force’s aerial display team has apologised after his unit performed a low-altitude pass over the wrong region.

Residents of Langenbruck looked up in vain on Saturday while expecting to see Switzerland’s Patrouille Suisse squadron swoop by to mark the centenary of the death of local aviation pioneer Oskar Bider.

The team flew over nearby Muemliswil instead.

Switzerland’s Defence Ministry said Monday that the formation had not practised the manoeuvre and got distracted by an unauthorised helicopter in the area.

The ministry says the team leader spotted what he thought was a tent for the Langenbruck celebration that turned out to be for a yodelling festival in Muemliswil.

The ministry said the Patrouille Suisse team’s red and white F-5E Tiger II jets are not equipped with GPS devices.