Yellow and blue AAA Alpine Air Ambulance EC135 rescue helicopter with Lions 1 and Notruf 144 markings at Birrfeld airfield

AAA Rescue Helicopter Hit by Laser in Aargau, Three Crew Hurt

by Max Grünwald | Oct 26, 2026 | Luftfahrtwelt, Nachricht | 0 comments

The crew were seconds from touching down at a medical emergency when the cockpit filled with green light. On Saturday evening, 24 October 2026, a rescue helicopter of AAA Alpine Air Ambulance was hit by a laser beam on its final approach to a landing site in Reinach, in the Swiss canton of Aargau.

All four people on board were dazzled. The mission was completed as planned, but three crew members had to seek medical treatment immediately afterwards for slight eye injuries, the company said in a statement on Sunday. The Kantonspolizei Aargau launched a search straight after the incident. It found no one, and the investigation is continuing.

Kurzinfo

Datum: Saturday 24 October 2026, shortly after 19:00 local (17:00 UTC)
Place: Approach to a medical emergency in Reinach, canton of Aargau, Switzerland
Operator: AAA Alpine Air Ambulance, helicopter based at Birrfeld airfield
Was ist passiert: Green laser beam dazzled the four-person crew just before landing
Verletzungen: Three crew members with slight eye injuries, treated afterwards
Mission: Completed as planned
Untersuchung: Kantonspolizei Aargau search unsuccessful so far; inquiry continuing
Swiss helicopter laser reports: 12 in 2024; five-year average 10.8 a year (FOCA)

Blinded in the landing phase

According to the AAA statement, published by Sky News Switzerland, Cockpit and 20 Minuten, the helicopter is based at Birrfeld airfield in Aargau and was called out shortly after 19:00 to an urgent medical emergency in Reinach. Switzerland was still on summer time that evening, so 19:00 local was 17:00 UTC; the clocks went back a few hours later.

The beam struck just before landing, when the whole crew was looking outside to bring the helicopter down safely in the dark. That is exactly why the company described the attack in the strongest terms.

“The laser attack on the AAA helicopter was highly dangerous, because it happened during the landing phase, one of the most critical parts of a flight.”

AAA Alpine Air Ambulance — Media statement, 25 October 2026 (translated from German)

AAA said such an attack is not a petty offence but a dangerous interference with aviation that can bring heavy penalties. The company reports every case to the police, and it will do so again here.

Night view from an AAA Alpine Air Ambulance helicopter cockpit with lit instruments and town lights below — Night flying from inside an AAA helicopter cockpit, the image AAA released with its statement on the laser attack. It is not a photo of the Reinach incident. Image: AAA Alpine Air Ambulance via Sky News Switzerland

Who flies the yellow-and-blue helicopters

AAA Alpine Air Ambulance is a Swiss air rescue operator whose yellow and blue helicopters fly under the 144 emergency number. According to watson, the company runs six helicopters, two emergency doctor cars and twelve ground ambulances, and is on call around the clock.

AAA Alpine Air Ambulance’s own film on its helicopter and ground fleet as part of the Swiss rescue chain.

Why helicopters are the most exposed

The Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA, or BAZL in German) logged reports of 12 laser attacks on helicopter crews in 2024, three fewer than the year before, against a five-year average of 10.8 a year. Aeroplanes reported 177 laser attacks in 2024, 10 percent fewer than in 2023 but still well above the five-year average of 120.2.

The regulator still rates the danger to helicopters as considerable. Most helicopters are flown by a single pilot, often low and slow over built-up areas or into hospital landing pads, which leaves very little time to recover if the pilot is dazzled. An airliner usually has two pilots and an autopilot.

“Dazzling the crew of an aircraft is illegal. It can have fatal consequences, especially in the decisive phases that demand the pilots’ full attention: approach, take-off or low-level flight.”

Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA/BAZL) — Annual Safety Report 2024, published 18 August 2025 (translated from German)

FOCA’s summary of 2025, published on 1 June 2026, recorded fewer laser attacks than in 2024. Saturday’s incident is a reminder that fewer is not none.

AAA Alpine Air Ambulance Eurocopter EC135 HB-ZJE on the helipad of Langenthal hospital — AAA Eurocopter EC135 HB-ZJE on the hospital helipad at Langenthal in July 2020. Hospital landing pads in built-up areas are among the phases FOCA flags as most exposed to laser dazzling. Not the incident aircraft. Photo: Grosi Fotografie via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Swiss law on laser pointers

Switzerland tightened the rules years ago. The ordinance under the federal act on protection against non-ionising radiation and sound took effect on 1 June 2019, and since then using a laser pointer outdoors has been banned, according to the Federal Office of Public Health and the Basel police.

Since 1 June 2021, at the end of a two-year transition, only Class 1 laser pointers are allowed, and only indoors for pointing. Importing, selling, handing over or even owning more powerful pointers, from Class 1M up to Class 4, is prohibited.

Whoever aimed the green beam at the Reinach approach has not been identified. The crew still landed, the patient still got help, and three rescuers went from the landing site to a doctor of their own.

Sources: AAA Alpine Air Ambulance (statement via Sky News Switzerland and Cockpit), 20 Minuten, watson, blue News, aeroTELEGRAPH, Federal Office of Civil Aviation FOCA/BAZL (Annual Safety Report 2024 and 2025), Federal Office of Public Health FOPH/BAG (laser pointers), Kantonspolizei Basel-Stadt (laser pointers)

Häufig gestellte Fragen

What happened to the AAA rescue helicopter in Reinach?

On 24 October 2026, shortly after 19:00, an AAA Alpine Air Ambulance rescue helicopter flying to a medical emergency in Reinach, canton of Aargau, was hit by a green laser beam just before landing. The four-person crew was dazzled, the mission was completed, and three crew members needed treatment for slight eye injuries.

Were the AAA helicopter crew injured by the laser?

Yes. According to AAA Alpine Air Ambulance, three of the four crew members suffered slight eye injuries from the green laser beam and went for medical treatment immediately after the mission in Reinach on 24 October 2026. Despite the attack, the crew landed and completed the emergency mission as planned.

Has the person who aimed the laser at the AAA helicopter been caught?

Not so far. The Kantonspolizei Aargau launched a search immediately after the laser attack on the AAA rescue helicopter in Reinach on 24 October 2026, but it was unsuccessful, and the investigation is continuing. AAA Alpine Air Ambulance says it reports every laser attack on its helicopters to the police.

How many laser attacks on helicopters are reported in Switzerland?

The Federal Office of Civil Aviation received reports of 12 laser attacks on helicopter crews in Switzerland in 2024, three fewer than in 2023, against a five-year average of 10.8 a year. Aeroplanes reported 177 laser attacks in 2024. FOCA says 2025 saw fewer laser attacks than the year before.

Why are laser attacks especially dangerous for helicopters?

Swiss regulator FOCA says most helicopters are flown by a single pilot, often low over built-up areas or into hospital landing pads. If the pilot is dazzled in such a phase, there is little time to regain control. Airliners usually have two pilots and an autopilot, which lowers the risk somewhat.

Are laser pointers legal in Switzerland?

Only the weakest ones, and only indoors. Since 1 June 2019 using laser pointers outdoors has been banned in Switzerland, and since 1 June 2021 only Class 1 pointers are allowed, for pointing indoors. Importing, selling, handing over or owning pointers of Classes 1M, 2, 2M, 3R, 3B and 4 is prohibited.