| Germany presented its version of the death of the Bashkir Tu-154 The Swiss company Skyguide agreed yesterday with the conclusions of the German air accident investigation authority and admitted that it was at fault for the plane crash over Lake Constance, Skyguide takes full responsibility for its mistakes and expresses sincere apologies to the relatives of the 71 people who lost their lives,” - says the statement of the company's general director Alain Rossier.
A report by German experts released yesterday indicates that a Russian Tu-154 passenger plane of Bashkir Airlines and a DHL courier Boeing 757 cargo plane collided on the night of July 2, 2002 due to the actions of air traffic controllers. The crash killed 71 people - 69 Russians (mostly children flying to Spain on vacation) and two Boeing pilots. Both planes were over German territory (which is why German specialists were investigating the causes of the collision), but within the area of competence of the Swiss Skyguide air traffic control service. The company employee on duty gave the Tu-154 the command to descend too late. The Russian pilots only had 50 seconds to complete the complex maneuver. Most experts tend to blame air traffic controller Peter Nielsen for the incident. He is no longer alive: as investigators believe, Vladikavkaz resident Vitaly Kaloev, whose wife and two children died on that tragic night, settled scores with him.
Everyone got it - ICAO rules, “devoid of a unified approach and partially contradictory,” were criticized. The report assessed very negatively the work of the Skyguide company, which for many years put up with the fact that during a decrease in the intensity of flights, only one controller remained at the control panel, while the second went to bed. However, the report notes that “wrong decisions” were made not only by the Skyguide controller, but also by the pilots of the Russian aircraft. They accepted the ground control's instructions to descend, while the automatic collision avoidance system (TCAS) instructed them to climb.
The co-pilot of the Bashkir "Tu" intended to pull the plane up, as required by the device signaling a possible collision, but the crew commander obeyed the instructions of the ground flight control service and took the plane down - to where the fatal Boeing was flying. “Since the pilots did not follow the instructions of the on-board control system on their aircraft, they bear part of the blame,” the German experts said in their conclusion.
The indication of partial guilt of the Russians came as an unpleasant surprise for the German lawyer Michael Wilti, who represents the interests of the relatives and friends of the victims. But the final report emphasizes that “an aircraft crash of this magnitude is always a complex incident.” 10 out of 12 recommendations presented on the organization of safety in air transport relate directly to the Skyguide company.
Germany, Switzerland and the Skyguide company have already created a joint fund to pay compensation. However, relatives of the disaster victims believe that the money offered is not enough. Lawyers for most of them are demanding $1.5 million for each victim. Swiss President Joseph Deiss, in a letter to President Vladimir Putin, expressed deep regret over the disaster over Lake Constance and assured that his country is “making every effort to quickly and without bureaucratic delays” pay “decent compensation” to the families and friends of the victims.
Residents of German towns located in the area of the tragedy are also counting on compensation for losses. The city council of Überlingen, with German precision, calculated the costs and billed Switzerland for 90 thousand euros for the use of fire protection, rescue services and psychological support. The municipality of Owingen demands 45 thousand euros, and Bodensee - 50 thousand euros. Yuri Shpakov, Berlin |
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