upper airspace to be gradually made 'stripless' from 2005 onwards. Skyguide has since been pursuing the strategy of merging its two en-route centres into one virtual entity (the Virtual Centre). On 20 December 2006, the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) awarded skyguide its certification for the Single European Sky (SES). At the beginning of 2010, six states (including Switzerland) signed an international agreement legally establishing Functional Airspace Block Europe Central (FABEC) as part of Europe's endeavours to create a Single European Sky. On 29 August 2016, an F/A-18C of the Fliegerstaffel 17 crashed in the Susten Pass in central Switzerland during a training mission. The pilot was found dead. As a cause, an incorrect altitude instruction of the Skyguide Controller in Tower Meiringen is assumed. See also Swiss air defense Federal Office of Civil Aviation References External links Website of skyguide Air Traffic Controller recruiting page at skyguide, Switzerland. Nacktes Chaos bei skyguide , BAZL criticises the management of the Swiss air navigation service massively, NZZ on Sunday, 9 April 2006 (German) Comment This text is a translation from German (:de:skyguide) Companies owned by the federal government of Switzerland Companies based in the canton of Geneva Air navigation service providers Swiss Air Force Swiss brands