On September 14, 2020, my wife and I flew to the site at Segnas Pass where a JU-52 with 17 passengers and 3 crew members crashed in 2018. The official investigation report had not yet been released, but some details had leaked to the press, and it confirmed what most aviation pundits had suspected: pilot error.

I can say from my own experience that the culture among JU-52 pilots has always been special. I was involved in the filming commissioned by the Swiss Army in 1981 when they sold their three machines to a private sponsor.

In addition to a look at the legendary Segnas Pass, this video also offers beautiful landscapes, and for student pilots it contains an example of how to communicate with the Flight Information Service (FIS). There are two Flight Information Regions (FIR) in Switzerland, namely Zurich Information and Geneva Information. When flying through uncontrolled airspace, it is always a good idea to contact these offices for the following reasons:

1.
The FIS provides traffic warnings. Of course, these are no guarantee, because there are also airplanes that are not detected by radar; This is especially the case in the mountains at low altitudes.

2.
The FIS can tell you if a military airspace is active, and if so, on what frequency to call the appropriate controller. The same applies to controlled civil airspace; the FIS can remind you to request a transit permit in good time.

3.
The FIS knows whether temporary danger areas are currently active. Of course, one should always consult the Daily Airspace Bulletin Switzerland (DABS) before flying, but double stitching is better.

4.
If an emergency landing should ever be necessary, the FIS knows immediately where the rescue workers have to look.