Skyguide trial hears testimonies

Bashkirian Airlines aircraft wreckage came down in Überlingen, Germany Keystone

The trial of eight employees of Swiss air traffic control agency Skyguide over a collision in 2002 in which 71 people died has finished its first week of hearings.

A district court near Zurich heard several of the accused blame the controller on duty, who was himself murdered in 2004 by a relative of three victims, for the crash of two jets in Swiss-controlled airspace over southern Germany.

The trial, which opened on Tuesday, is expected to last two weeks.

Three Skyguide managers, two maintenance staff and three other employees have been charged with negligent manslaughter. They also face charges of negligent disruption of public transport. They all deny the charges.

The prosecution has called for suspended sentences of between six and 15 months.

Prosecutors have pointed the finger at Skyguide’s management for authorising a procedure that meant only one controller was effectively on duty after 11pm. They say this gave the lone controller too much to do and compromised safety.

Staff were also alleged to not be properly aware that maintenance work was taking place, which meant the backup radar system was not 100 per cent effective and the emergency telephone system was not functioning adequately.

The collision took place in Swiss-controlled airspace over Germany’s Lake Constance area on July 1, 2002. A Russian Tupolev aircraft operated by Bashkirian Airlines crashed into a DHL cargo jet, killing everyone on board both planes, including 49 children and teenagers.

In 2004 the Danish controller who was on duty in Zurich when the crash occurred was stabbed to death outside his family home by a Russian man who lost his wife and two children in the collision. Vitaly Kaloyev was found guilty of intentional killing a year later.

Normal practice

At the court the three managers defended the practice of having only one controller on duty – which has now been outlawed – saying it had previously never been a problem.

They said traffic had been normal that night and the controller was able to handle the situation well.

One manager said the controller’s attention might have been distracted by a late flight at Friedrichshafen in Germany.

It has been alleged that the emergency phone, which the controller was trying to use to contact Friedrichshafen, was not working that night.

However, the controller’s direct superior did concede he would not have authorised the second controller to take a break because of the maintenance work. But he said it was up to the main controller to decide.

The second controller on duty who took the break defended himself by saying he had been sent away by his colleague. He maintained his colleague would not have done so if he had needed him.

Technicians doing the maintenance confirmed to the court that the first controller did know about the work.

Defending the controller

Only one of the accused defended the Dane, praising his work and saying that problems with the telephone had prevented him from reacting in time to the crash.

A 2004 report from Germany’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found that the air-traffic controller gave the planes instructions to avoid a collision only 43 seconds before impact.

In all, the report partially blamed Swiss air traffic control for the accident, but it said the crash was caused primarily by human error.

It added that the crew of the Bashkirian Airlines jet obeyed the controller’s instruction to descend but failed to listen to their on-board collision warning system, which advised them to climb.

The trial is due to resume on Monday with testimonies from experts.

swissinfo with agencies

In brief

Skyguide is a non-profit-making limited company that is 99% owned by the Swiss government.

It is responsible for air traffic control in Switzerland and parts of neighbouring countries.

Skyguide is based in Geneva, but a new Air Navigation Service Centre in Zurich is expected to be fully operational next year.