Test pilot Lothar Sieber became the first pilot to launch a Ba 349 aircraft. The aircraft was launched from the Lager Heuberg base near Stetten am kalten Markt, Germany. After 50 seconds of flight, the aircraft crashed about 5 miles from the launch site, killing Sieber. The cause was either one of four booster rockets failing to function, or a loose canopy that might have fatally injured Sieber.
