Tues "The Australian" Late News
'Overtired' pilot in Swiss crash
By Naomi Koppel in Geneva
February 03, 2004
AN "overtired" pilot who flew too low was the cause of a plane crash that killed 24 people, Swiss investigators concluded today, as justice officials considered whether to prosecute officials of the Swiss national airline.
"The commander deliberately descended below the minimum descent altitude ... without having the required visual contact to the approach lights or the runway," the federal Air Accident Investigation Bureau said in its 161 page report on the November 24, 2001, crash of Crossair Flight CRX3597.
The scheduled flight from Berlin, arriving in rain and snow, crashed into woodland on the approach to Zurich Airport, killing 24 and injuring nine other people.
Among the dead were US singer Melanie Thornton, two of the three members of the pop group Passion Fruit and the dean of Israel's Hebrew University school of medicine. The pilot and co-pilot also died.
The report found that the pilot, who was not identified, had been working for more than 13 hours when the crash occurred, and had exceeded maximum duty times in the two days before the accident as well, meaning that he "would tend to be overtired".
It concluded that the pilot's "ability to concentrate and take appropriate decisions as well as his ability to analyse complex processes were adversely affected by fatigue".
The report also criticised the co-pilot for failing to step in.
Swiss International Air Lines - the new name of Crossair - said in a statement that it followed all national and international safety requirements.
"The highly experienced captain had all the qualifications required for the flight," the company said.
Hansjuerg Mark Wiedmer, spokesman for Switzerland's federal prosecutors office, confirmed that a criminal investigation has been opened, on suspicion of negligent homicide and grievous bodily harm by negligence.
Swiss made no comment except to say that it was "keen to have this case fully clarified."
Investigators concluded that over a long period airline officials "did not make correct assessments of the commander's flying performance. Where weaknesses were perceptible, they did not take the appropriate measures."
Other factors that contributed to the crash included the fact that there was no alarm system on Zurich's runway 28 to warn pilots if they went too low, and the system for measuring visibility at the airport was inappropriate for that runway.
A range of hills over which the plane flew were not marked on the chart the pilots were using, it said.
Swiss said that since the accident it has introduced a new flight safety program covering recruitment, training, checks, workflow and procedures throughout its operations.
Swiss said it has paid compensation to the families of the victims but was still facing lawsuits in Switzerland, Germany and Israel.
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