Two dead in an ultralight aircraft crash in the Heilbronn district

After a small plane crashed in the Heilbronn district, the police hope that the two dead people will be identified soon. The investigation into the origin of the two-seat ultralight aircraft is also continuing at full speed, a police spokeswoman said. The machine crashed in a vineyard near Gundelsheim and burned out - the registration number was no longer visible.

All that is clear so far is that shortly after 12 p.m. on Sunday, the small plane took off for unknown reasons while approaching a nearby airfield, hit a fence and then collided with a tree. The machine crashed in a vineyard and burst into flames.

The aircraft's rescue system triggered

Experts from the State Criminal Police Office discovered on site that a so-called pyrotechnic device, which was installed in the aircraft to trigger the overall rescue system, had already detonated. In this type of small aircraft there is no ejection seat in case of emergencies, but the aircraft is pulled upwards by a targeted explosion. The police did not want to comment on whether this could indicate a technically-related and then unsuccessful emergency landing - nor did they want to comment on speculation about the origin of the plane.

Just four weeks ago, a small plane crashed near an airfield near Weinheim in the border area with Hesse. There were also two deaths in this incident.