FOCA, the Swiss federal office for civil aviation, has filed administrative penal proceedings against helicopter operator Air Zermatt for allegedly carrying out illegal mountainside landings. The FOCA director, Raymond Cron, is also investigating whether his office has turned a blind eye to the practice over a period of several years.
The probe began in October last year after Air Zermatt was suspected of dropping heli-skiers from close to Hotel Trift in Zermatt, which, at 3,630ft (1,100m), is not an approved landing area, the office says.
Source: Flight International
