The Swiss pilot of a small plane thought it would be fun to land on the huge plateau on the upper sections of Monte Rosa in the Italian Alps. But while building up speed to take off again, the aircraft nearly missed a group of skiers taking part in the Mezzalama Trophy, one of the most prestigious skimo races in Europe.
The plane briefly landed below Colle Sesia, a saddle on the normal route to the 4,634m summit of Monte Rosa, the second-highest peak in the Alps after Mont Blanc. The plane ran along the plateau and then, surprisingly, turned around and gathered speed to take off again. It ploughed through a small gap in a line of skiers heading toward the Campana Marguerita, the highest refuge in the Alps (and in Europe). The close call happened on Saturday just before noon, as over 1,000 skiers took part in the Mezzalama.
Luca Calzone, one of the skiers, captured the scene in a video that quickly went viral:
“I hope the Swiss authorities will intervene,” Calzone said. “This could have resulted in a horrible tragedy.” The joyriding pilot did not miss the skiers by much.
A dangerous trend?
There is no information about the pilot yet, but the aircraft was a Piper PA-18 Super Cub. It is unknown whether this case is related to other rogue landings of private aircraft in higher reaches of the Alps. Two Swiss men landed a small plane less than 400m from the top of Mont Blanc in 2019, then headed for the summit with the police in pursuit. The landing was unanimously criticized but showed an important gap in Europe’s legislation because the Mont Blanc pilot did not seem to have broken any particular law. In the end, he was fined €38 ($40); hardly a deterrent.
Just one month ago, another small, single-engine aircraft crashed on the Glacier du Géant in the Mont Blanc massif. Skiers doing the famous descent of the Vallee Blanche witnessed the crash. The two pilots survived, and the authorities are still investigating the cause of the accident.
