What happened
On September 14, 2016, at approximately 14:09 UTC, an AQUILA AT01 (A210) was conducting a flight in the Stanzer Tal region of Tyrol, Austria. The pilot, flying solo, had departed from Zell am See (LOWZ) at 13:00 UTC following a refueling stop. The flight path involved navigating through the Innsbruck CTR and climbing through the mountainous terrain toward St. Anton/Arlberg.
As the aircraft entered the Steißbachtal, it was performing a right-hand turn and climbing toward the terrain rising near the Arlensattel. During this maneuver, the aircraft crossed the path of the Vallugabahn I cable car system. The aircraft intersected the cable car's warning line—a specialized safety cable designed to mark the presence of the aerial tramway—at an altitude of approximately 2,200 meters MSL. The impact with the warning line led to the destruction of the aircraft.
The investigation
The Austrian Federal Safety Investigation Board (SUB) reconstructed the flight sequence using witness statements and onboard avionics data. The investigation examined the flight conditions, the aircraft's technical state, and the specific characteristics of the cable car's obstacle marking system. Investigators also reviewed the visibility conditions and the effectiveness of the warning line's visual markers (the 'ball chain' system) in alerting pilots to the presence of the cable car wires.