New to this Forum but just heard BBC announce that the Russian pilot told the Swiss ATCO that they had a proximity warning which prompted the order to descend. The Germans say that their controllers had been watching for two minutes and trying to warn Swiss.
God have mercy on the dead and comfort the living
Text from BBC website:
According to German authorities, cockpit warning systems told the Tu-154 to climb and the cargo jet to descend, just 45 seconds before the collision.
But voice recorders reveal that one second later, Zurich air traffic controllers told the Russian pilots to descend.
The Russian crew did not respond, so the Zurich control tower repeated the order 14 seconds later, investigators say.
The Russian plane responded and the two aircraft collided 30 seconds later.
Although the aircraft were flying over Germany at the time, they were under the control of the Swiss air traffic control body, Skyguide.
Investigations are being carried out by both Swiss and German authorities.
The Swiss inquiry is looking into the possibility of homicide through negligence, which carries a three-year jail term for anyone found guilty.
Irregularities
Earlier, the German weekly Der Spiegel reported that German air traffic controllers had tried to warn Skyguide that the planes were on a collision course
But all attempts reportedly failed as the telephone network at Skyguide was down at the time for maintenance.
While Skyguide had initially pointed the finger at the Russian pilot's failure to respond promptly to the air controller's warning, it has been revealed that there were several other irregularities at the control centre on the night in question.
In addition to work apparently being carried out on the telephone network, the centre's collision warning system was down for maintenance and only one controller was on duty at the time of the crash.
The controller, who warned the Russian pilot to change course just 44 seconds before the collision, has been described as overburdened by a German team investigating the crash.