The Swiss federal court last month acquitted Crossair chairman Moritz Suter, CEO André Dosé and four other former airline employees of homicide by neglect in connection with the crash of an Avro RJ100 during approach to Zurich Airport on Nov. 24, 2001. The trial began on May 5 at Bellinzona in southern Switzerland. The “not guilty” verdict was read May 16, much earlier than expected. When the prosecution closed its case on May 9, it requested suspended jail sentences for all indicted–two years for Suter and Dosé, and between 12 and 18 months for four people employed as middle managers at the time of the accident.
In a report published in early 2004, the Swiss Air Accident Investigation Bureau blamed the accident, which killed 24 of the aircraft’s 33 occupants, on pilot error. According to the prosecutor, the pilot responsible (who died in the crash) had many blemishes on his record and should have been removed from flying duty. He also blamed the management for maintaining a culture of fear, preventing pilots from reporting incidents and encouraging them to take risks rather than choosing safe–but more costly– procedures. Finally, he said that the faulty pilot remained on the roster because Crossair was short of pilots and chose to fly in unsafe conditions rather than canceling flights.
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