Inquiry launched after near accident at Zurich airport
An inquiry has been launched into why a Crossair plane skidded off the runway at Zurich airport after landing. No one was injured after the aircraft, arriving from Düsseldorf in Germany, veered off the tarmac at a speed of 70km/h.
The Swiss Aviation Authority is trying to discover why the plane suddenly left the runway. A spokesman for Crossair’s parent company, SAir, said one of the aircraft’s four tyres had deflated. However, it is not clear whether this was the cause of the incident, or merely a consequence of it.
All 32 passengers and seven crew were unharmed. However, they were told to leave the plane immediately, once it had come to a standstill.
The incident comes just six months after 10 people were killed in a crash involving a Crossair plane, minutes after it took off from Zurich airport on its voyage to the German city of Dresden.
Air traffic in and out of Zurich airport was stopped temporarily on Thursday, in the wake of the incident, since the Crossair aircraft was blocking the runway.
The SAirGroup also revealed that another Crossair plane ran into difficulties on Thursday when it was forced to land in Basel. The Saab 2000, travelling from Zurich to the Italian airport of Genoa, failed to pull up its undercarriage.
The plane was diverted to Basel airport as the runway at Zurich was still closed. All 37 passengers and four crew were unharmed on arriving safely in Basel.
Only a month ago, an independent study gave Crossair the all clear for its safety standards but also pointed out that it was badly organised.
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