Fighter jet collides with private jet over western Germany, one dead

Authorities said late Monday the collision occurred at an altitude of 2,500 metres. They initially thought it took place at a higher altitude of between 3 kilometres and 5 kilometres.
One of the engines of the civilian jet was sheared off in the impact and crashed on a road, the official said. The rest of the aircraft came down in a wooded area near Olsberg-Elpe in North Rhine Westphalia, missing a house by about 90 metres.
Officials confirmed the death of only one of two people on board the Learjet. The aircraft went up in flames when it crashed in a forested area in the Sauerland region, the police spokewoman said.
The occupants were identified by police only as a 50-year-old and a 43-year-old from Schleswig-Holstein.
The mid-air collision occurred while the Eurofighter jet was participating in a joint exercise with another Eurofighter. A full fuel tank was torn off in the collision, but the jet was able to land safely at a military base in Noervenich near Cologne, Colonel Andreas Hoppe said.
DPA