Search area extended

Missing Cessna: tourers the last witnesses

The search area is extremely extensive, here the Ötztal Alps (symbolic image).(Bild: Claudia Thurner)

Following a new tip-off, the search for the Cessna that disappeared over the Ötztal valley on Holy Saturday was extended to the Sellraintal and Stubaital valleys. On Easter Monday, extreme weather conditions again made further search flights difficult.

The disappearance of a single-engine Cessna 172 over the Ötztal on Saturday remains a mystery for the time being. "Due to the most adverse conditions with rain, snow and a lack of visibility, no new search flights could be launched on Monday," a police spokesperson said.

No new search flights could be launched on Monday due to adverse conditions with rain, snow and poor visibility.

Ein Polizeisprecher

Several sightings
The last indication of the aircraft (identification "D-EFCC") came from a group of ski tourers. "They saw the plane in the Sellrain and Stubai Valley area," explained Klaus Hohenauer from the state's aviation authority. Earlier, a witness had spotted the Cessna at the Winnebachseehütte (near Gries near Längenfeld). He thought he recognized that the plane was struggling to maintain the necessary altitude over the mountains.

The search is on for a Cessna (symbolic image)(Bild: zVg, Krone KREATIV)

The nearest local mountain rescue team - Gries near Längenfeld - is only on standby for the time being. "We briefly considered whether we should go up to search. But where to start? It would also be very dangerous, as there has recently been a huge amount of snow at the top," said local station manager Günter Schöpf. Hohenauer emphasizes that it is not easy to fight a foehn storm given the rather low performance of this machine. In aviation circles, there is talk of an extremely daring crossing of the Alps in view of the weather conditions.

The take-off took place on Easter Saturday in Urbe near Rome, the destination airfield was Kaufbeuren-Bad Wörishofen in the Allgäu. Contact was lost at around 11.45 a.m. north-east of Sölden.

No report from "crash transmitter" so far
The emergency services have not yet received any reports from the "crash transmitter", which is automatically activated in the event of an impact and provides information about the crash site. However, this does not work in all cases. Among other things, certain g-forces occurring during a crash landing are a prerequisite.