Helicopter pilot charged in deadly Soelden gondola accident case

Helicopter pilot charged in deadly Soelden gondola accident case{mosimage}INNSBRUCK, Austria — The state prosecutor on Monday charged a pilot whose helicopter dropped heavy equipment onto a ski lift, killing nine German skiers.

Three adults and six youths aged between 12 and 14 died in the accident Sept. 5 near the Austrian alpine resort of Soelden after a mechanical hook beneath the helicopter let go of a tub weighing nearly 700 kilograms (more than 1,500-pounds) used to transport concrete.

The tub hit the cable car below, sending one of its gondolas plunging 30 meters (100 feet) onto a rocky mountainside. Other victims were catapulted out of two other gondolas. Seven people survived their injuries.

The pilot was charged with contravening air transport regulations by flying over the area used by the cable cars. He was not identified by the prosecutor’s office, but has been named previously by Austrian media as Markus Jaeger.

-The Associated Press