first english newspaper comment (NRC dutch)
Bad altimeter a factor in plane crash
Published: 4 March 2009 14:37 | Changed: 4 March 2009 15:09
By the Associated Press
A faulty altimeter played an important role in a Turkish Airlines crash that killed 9 people in the Netherlands, according to Dutch investigators.
A forensic expert examines the wreckage of a Turkish Airlines passenger plane at Amsterdam Schiphol airport the day after the crash that killed nine people.
Photo Reuters
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Pieter van Vollenhoven of the Dutch Safety Authority on Wednesday said the plane was landing on automatic pilot and the problem with the altimeter, a device that measures altitude, led to a loss of airspeed before the crash. At a nationally televised news conference in The Hague, Van Vollenhoven presented the agencies findings and issued a warning about the altimeter in the Boeing 737-800 that had experienced problems twice before.