An error by the pilot of a small Cessna aircraft sparked the events that caused the deaths of 118 people in the Milan air disaster, an investigating Italian magistrate said today.
Milan state prosecutor Mr Gerardo D'Ambrosio said he had reached the conclusion after listening to recordings of conversations between the German Cessna pilot and the control tower at Linate.
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The remains of the tail-end of the crashed airliner
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"It's true that there was human error. The pilot of the Cessna took a wrong turn, convinced he was on the right runway. But we have to investigate further to see all the other factors which may have influenced the accident," he said.
Mr D'Ambrosio said the recording suggested the Cessna pilot believed he was on a runway called Romeo Five, when in fact he was on Romeo Six, which took his plane into the path of a Scandinavian Airlines jet as it approached take-off speed.
The two planes collided in thick fog. All four people aboard the Cessna were killed instantly, and the airliner slewed 500 metres off the runway and into an airport building before splitting in two and bursting into flames.
All 110 people aboard the Copenhagen-bound plane died, as well as four ground staff working in the building.
Emergency teams are still trying to recover the remaining 12 bodies from the wreckage.
Last night the Italian Interior Ministry ruled out terrorism and said the accident was most likely the result of "human error" compounded by poor visibility due to heavy fog at Linate airport.
AFP