Hans Georg Schmid Heading For Oshkosh

A pilot attempting to set a new speed record Monday from France to Oshkosh, WI went down in Basel, Switzerland, Monday.

World record-setting pilot Hans Georg Schmid (shown in center, at the 2000 Lakeland Fly-In) took off from the EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, just across the Swiss border in France Monday morning in a plane of his own design, the Express 2000 ER, according to the Associated Press.

BSL Deputy Director Vincent Devauchelle said the aircraft apparently experienced some type of problem shortly after takeoff and the Swiss Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau was investigating.

The aircraft impacted the attic portion of an apartment building and ended up in a playground with children present. At least three people on the ground were reported injured.

"There was a loud bang," said Silvia Kalman, an adult supervisor of 19 children playing on the playground at the time of the accident. She told reporters a jungle gym burst into flames and the playground was littered with debris and wreckage.

Schmid's body was located in the park, according to Klaus Mannhart, spokesperson for Basel cantonal (state) police.

Airport spokesperson Sabrina Walter said the former Swissair pilot was attempting to set a new a solo single-engine flight in his kerosene-fueled aircraft by covering the more than 4,970 mile trip in 30 hours.

Williamsport, Pennsylvania-based engine maker Lycoming Engines said Schmid was planning fly around the world - twice - in the aircraft later this year.

Schmid, who holds over 160 aviation world records, had a successful maiden flight last month, according to the Experimental Aviation Association of Switzerland.

Previous world records include circumnavigating the globe in eastbound and westbound directions. The next attempts were to have been northbound and southbound.

As ANN reported, Schmid's proposed flight plan would have taken him over the North Pole twice during winter and total darkness, as well as over the Pacific Rim during typhoon season.

FMI: www.euroairport.com, Schmid Website