Skip to main content

Air freight

In Switzerland, an Opel delivery van had to be airlifted from a mountain, following a navigation error by its driver. The driver followed the directions given by his satellite navigation system, which told him to follow a narrow track that wound slowly upwards.
February 21, 2012 Read time: 1 min
In Switzerland, an Opel delivery van had to be airlifted from a mountain, following a navigation error by its driver. The driver followed the directions given by his satellite navigation system, which told him to follow a narrow track that wound slowly upwards. Trusting his GPS system, the man drove as directed up the narrow pathway until the vehicle could move no further. The van finally became firmly wedged between a fence and a stone wall and unable to turn around or reverse, the driver called the emergency services. They provided a helicopter to remove the van. However a local fireman praised the driver's off-road skills in negotiating the goat track in his Opel van.

Related Content

  • Getting fried
    January 27, 2017
    An Australian man in the city of Adelaide was recently stopped by police for suspicious behaviour. The officers then found he had replaced the steering wheel of his car with a frying pan. Police were called after reports of a man loitering and when they arrived at the scene, he got into his car and drove off at speed. The police set off in pursuit and were able to stop the man, realising then that the vehicle was neither insured nor registered, while its licence plates had been changed illegally. A quick in
  • GTT’s Opticom GPS System set for Kingman on Route 66
    January 31, 2017
    The US city of Kingman, on the iconic trans-American Route 66, has chosen the Opticom GPS pre-emption traffic solution from Global Traffic Technologies. The system from GTT works alongside intersection controllers to ensure emergency vehicles move through intersections rapidly and safely. The Opticom solution includes a GPS component for location and wireless communications between authorised vehicles and the intersections which they approach. When an emergency vehicle on call needs to navigate an int
  • Driving safely to cut risks for road users
    August 24, 2015
    Regulations in France covering driving have become tougher. In a bid to tackle distracted driving, French drivers are now banned from using hands-free phone kits that use headsets while at the wheel. This follows research showing that the use of hands-free kits is only slightly less dangerous than holding a phone in the hand while at the wheel. French drivers are also forbidden to eat, apply make-up, read a map or listen to very loud music when behind the wheel. Meanwhile headphones or wireless earpieces ar
  • Apple’s aviation inaccuracies
    February 19, 2014
    Two drivers in Alaska caused some concern to aviation movements by following directions from Apple Maps. The drivers first crossed the taxiway and then the runway at Fairbanks Airport. How they were able to enter the supposedly secure airport however has not been revealed and nor have their IQ ratings. The drivers ignored numerous signposts and painted markings saying that the area they were entering was restricted to aircraft and not for road vehicles. The airport authorities erected barriers until the map