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German helicopter pilot killed in stunt performance

AFP/DPA/The Local
AFP/DPA/The Local - [email protected]
German helicopter pilot killed in stunt performance
Photo: DPA

A German helicopter crashed Sunday outside the Belarusian capital Minsk during an aerobatics show, killing its pilot, a spokesman for the emergency situations ministry said.

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The pilot, Gunter Zimmer, 74, was making "death loops" in his MD 500 helicopter when it crashed and burst into flames at the Borovaya airfield, which was hosting a Commonwealth of Independent States sport helicopter competition.

According to authorities in Minsk the aircraft went down just a few hundred metres from the crowd of spectators right after the competition began. The crowd reportedly fled the competition grounds in a panic.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but experts said they could not rule out that the experienced pilot from Dinslaken, North Rhine-Westphalia may have made a mistake or suffered from a health problem that lead to the accident.

Zimmer had been a long-time member of the ODM German national helicopter pilot’s team.

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