Switzerland Plane Crash Hochwald, 1974 (b/w photo)

On the occasion of the first anniversary of the plane crash in Hochwald, canton of Solothurn, Switzerland, a commemoration took place and a memorial stone was unveiled, pictured on April 10, 1974. On April 10, 1973, the worst plane crash in Swiss history occurred: 108 people died as an English charter plane crashed not far from Basel. On the day of the disaster, when the Vickers Vanguard 952 from Bristol, UK, wanted to make its approach to the airport Basel-Mulhouse, the weather was foggy, very windy and there was heavy snow. The plane could not land and had to pull up. Afterwards, the crew apparently lost orientation, and then, 16 kilometers south of the airport, the catastrophe occurred: In a second attempt to pull up, the plane flew against a wooded hillside near Herrenmatt in the canton of Solothurn: For 108 of the 145 passengers and crew members, who intended to make a day trip to the Mustermesse Basel, the crash was lethal, while 37 survived because they were seated in the rear of the plane