A millionaire British businessman has died in a plane crash in the Swiss Alps that claimed the lives of two other people.
Owain Davies, a 55-year-old engineering company boss, was travelling aboard a Cirrus SR22T propeller aircraft when it crashed near the resort of Leukerbad in Valais, southern Switzerland, on Tuesday.
Two other people, including another British national, were also killed in the Swiss Alps plane crash.
The father of two was remembered by his company, Amcanu, as an “unstoppable force” and “a very good friend”.
Mr Davies took charge of the business in Burry Port, South Wales, in 2000. The company had been founded by his father, Spencer Davies OBE, in 1975.
In a tribute, Amcanu 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.”
The company described Owain as “a real character” who was “determined, strong-willed, spirited, reflective and immensely proud”.
Engineering boss Owain Davies, 55, died when a Cirrus SR22T aircraft crashed near Leukerbad in the Swiss Alps
The father of two was described by his heartbroken company, Amcanu, as an “unstoppable force” and “a very good friend”
Three people, including two Britons, died on Tuesday when a propeller-powered aircraft crashed in the Alps in southwest Switzerland
The tribute 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 did not make a great show of it. In fact, many people who knew him professionally may never have realised 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.
“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 also said Mr Davies was “a proud Welshman and Welsh speaker”. He had served as a trustee of the 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 two 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.
