British businessman Owain Davies has died after a light aircraft crashed in the Swiss Alps, killing all three people on board.
Mr Davies, 55, was travelling in a propeller-driven Cirrus SR22T when it crashed close to the mountain resort of Leukerbad in Valais, southern Switzerland, on Tuesday. Two other people were killed, including another British national.
The father of two was remembered by his company, Amcanu, as an “unstoppable force” and a cherished friend.
Davies had led the Burry Port, South Wales-based engineering business since 2000, taking charge 25 years after it was established by his father, Spencer Davies OBE.
In a moving tribute, the company said: “He was a familiar face on the factory floor, an unstoppable force, a mentor and, for many people who have spent a significant part of their working lives at Amcanu, a very good friend.
“Above everything else, he was a husband, father and grandfather.”
Amcanu said Davies was “a real character” — determined, strong-willed and spirited, while also reflective and immensely proud.
Engineering company boss Owain Davies was among three people killed when the Cirrus SR22T aircraft crashed in the Swiss Alps.
Amcanu paid tribute to the father of two, describing him as an “unstoppable force” and a “very good friend”.
Three people, including two British nationals, died when the propeller aircraft came down in the Alps of southwest Switzerland on Tuesday.
It continued: ‘There was another side of Owain that not everybody knew about. He loved flying.
‘Owain was an experienced pilot and aviation was a genuine passion – technically, socially and simply for the freedom and enjoyment it gave him.
‘He had a large circle of friends within the aviation community and would fly his helicopter whenever the opportunity arose.
‘He didn’t make a great show of it. In fact, many people who knew him professionally may never have known how important aviation was to him.
‘At the time of the accident, Owain was travelling as a passenger, alongside two of his closest friends.
‘The circumstances of his death are devastating, but flying was something that brought Owain enormous happiness throughout his life.
‘Owain was admired. He was respected. He was sometimes formidable. He was enormously caring.
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‘He was a husband, a dad, a grandad, a son, a mentor, a leader and a friend… And he will be missed more than we can possibly express.’
Amcanu added that Mr Davies was ‘a proud Welshman and Welsh speaker’ and had been a trustee of Wales Air Ambulance Charity since 2017.
The charity’s chair of trustees, Dr Kyle Jacques, said he had made a ‘significant contribution to the Wales Air Ambulance and the vital service we provide’.
‘Owain was a valued colleague and friend, whose loyalty and generosity of spirit meant so much to us. He will be greatly missed,’ he added.
Mr Davies previously worked as a helmsman with Burry Port Lifeboat for nearly 25 years, the firm said.
Officials say the plane took off from Sion airport in the Rhône Valley and crashed into a mountain slope around ten minutes later.
Firefighters, police and rescue teams in helicopters attended the scene but the cause of the crash is unknown.
A probe is underway by the Swiss Transportation Safety Board and Valais Police and the Office of the Attorney General are also investigating.
The Foreign Office has said it is ‘providing support to the families of two British nationals who died in Switzerland’.
‘Our thoughts remain with the families during this difficult time,’ it added.
Mr Davies’s son, Aron, said the family had ‘suffered an unimaginable loss’, describing his father as ‘driven, determined and someone who simply didn’t accept that a problem was too big to solve’.
Formal identification of the other victims is under way.
An image of the crash site shared by local police showed the wreckage of the plane on a mountainside.
In a statement, the force said: ‘Shortly after 4pm, for reasons yet to be determined, the aircraft collided with the northern slope of a mountain in the Fluhalp area of Leukerbad.
‘Signs of smoke were subsequently reported in the region.’
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
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