German Pilot Crashes Into Mountain
A pilot deliberately crashed his single-engine plane into Germany’s highest mountain Sunday, ignoring pleas from police and army officers in pursuing helicopters not to take his life.
Authorities evacuated tourists from a summit observation deck and shut down two cable cars after being notified of the pilot’s intention to kill himself by slamming into the 9,718-foot Zugspitze.
The plane crashed into the mountain eight minutes later. No one on the ground was reported injured.
Authorities did not release the name of the man, a 55-year-old from the western state of North RhineWestphalia. He had set off from there accompanied by another plane flown by an instructor.