Austrian Court Examines How Skier Fell to Death From Planai Chairlift

A fatal accident at Planai, Austria, is now the subject of a civil court case after investigators concluded that a 42-year-old man who died last November likely fell approximately 10 meters (33 feet) from a chairlift. The circumstances surrounding the death of the Graz man remained a mystery for months. He was initially found unresponsive below the lift line at Planai on November 23, 2025, and authorities initially believed he had fallen while skiing off the groomed runs.

• Related: Fatal Off-Piste Skiing Accident Claims Life of 42-Year-Old Skier in Planai, Austria

Now, a smartwatch worn by the man has provided investigators with new information that appears to indicate he fell from the Burgstallalmbahn chairlift. The man’s mother is suing Planai-Hochwurzen-Bahnen in civil court, seeking approximately €8,150 ($9,500) in funeral expenses. The case is being heard at the District Court of Schladming.

The accident occurred shortly after 12:15 p.m. on November 23, 2025. At the time, other skiers discovered the 42-year-old man lying unresponsive below a lift line and alerted emergency services. Planai ski patrol and mountain rescuers responded, followed by an emergency physician who was lowered to the scene by winch from an emergency helicopter. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, with the cause of death being described as a fatal neck injury.

Initially, investigators believed he had fallen while skiing. Police reportedly suspected that he had caught a ski on a root or other obstacle protruding through the snow, causing him to fall into the terrain below the lift. There were no witnesses to the actual accident. There were also no reports of a lift malfunction.

The case was eventually closed by prosecutors after investigators found no evidence of third-party involvement.

• Related: British Family Seeks Eyewitnesses in Chairlift Fall of 12-Year-Old Daughter

The man’s smartwatch, however, would later raise new questions.

During a recent court hearing, Judge Bettina Rainer examined data retrieved from the deceased man’s smartwatch. According to report in Austrian media, the watch data differentiated between skiing and lift rides. The judge described the display as showing ski descents in red and lift rides in gray. The data showed that the man’s fourth lift ride ended abruptly. That raised the suspicion that the skier had not fallen while skiing at all, but had instead fallen from the Burgstallalmbahn. The suspected fall was approximately 10 meters (33 feet).

The court is now attempting to determine exactly what happened aboard the chairlift. One important question is whether anyone was sitting near the man when he fell.

According to the court, three people scanned their lift passes at approximately the same time as the deceased. About one minute later, six people were apparently waiting at the lift. Yet nobody reported seeing or hearing a fall. Police previously said there had been no scream, no observed fall, and no apparent malfunction of the lift reported. There are also no video recordings of the incident.

The central question in the civil case may ultimately come down to the chairlift’s restraint bar. The representative for the man’s mother, Sara Hillbrand, suspects a technical failure may have prevented the safety bar from closing properly. Hillbrand reportedly argued that the chairlift’s restraint mechanism may not have fully locked because of a technical defect.

Planai’s legal representative, Hans-Moritz Pott, rejected the allegation. According to Pott, the safety bar must have been manually raised by the skier if it was closed correctly, meaning the possibility remains that the bar was never fully lowered or locked.

Planai-Hochwurzen-Bahnen has denied responsibility for the accident. The company inspected its chairs immediately after the incident and found no malfunction, according to Pott. However, the exact chair occupied by the deceased was never identified, making it impossible to inspect that particular chair for comparison.

Planai’s operators maintain that the lift itself was functioning normally. The company reportedly inspected the entire chairlift following the fatality and found no technical problems. The investigation also found no evidence that the lift had stopped unexpectedly or experienced another operational problem at the time of the incident.

That leaves the court with a difficult question: if the man did fall from the chairlift, what caused his fall? The answer would determine either potential negligence or potential user error. An investigator, several Planai employees, and an expert are expected to provide additional evidence as the case continues.

The expert will be tasked with reconstructing how the accident could have occurred. The court may eventually conduct part of the investigation directly at the scene. If that happens, the reconstruction would take place during winter, when the Burgstallalmbahn is operating again.

The case is particularly unusual because the original investigation had effectively concluded that the man had fallen while skiing. Months later, data from his smartwatch has pointed investigators toward an entirely different scenario. For the family, the civil case is now an attempt to establish exactly what happened during the final minutes of the man’s life.