A severe storm on Friday morning badly damaged the Starflight Association’s Antonov An-2 at Birrfeld airfield in Switzerland, grounding the heritage biplane and forcing the cancellation of planned round flights at the Kirchberg flying event. The aircraft was hit so hard that it could not be flown to Kirchberg as scheduled, even as the festival itself continued to go ahead.
The association is urgently looking for a replacement aircraft in the hope that round flights can still take place on Sunday, although no guarantee has been given. The An-2, described as the world’s largest biplane, is central to the group’s vintage and nostalgic aviation programme, making the damage a setback for both operations and the weekend public flying display.
Reports also point to wider disruption at Birrfeld, where several small aircraft, hangar interiors and exteriors, and the Open Air Argovia site were damaged. No injuries were reported. The full technical extent of the damage, the repair timeline and any financial impact have not yet been disclosed.