Pilot blamed in Crossair crash; others implicated | Aviation International News

Pilot blamed in Crossair crash; others implicated

Switzerland’s Federal Bureau of Air Accident Investigation, known as the BFU, identified pilot error as the cause of a Crossair Avro RJ100 accident on Nov.

By Thomas Stocker

March 16, 2007

Switzerland’s Federal Bureau of Air Accident Investigation, known as the BFU, identified pilot error as the cause of a Crossair Avro RJ100 accident on Nov. 24, 2001, near Bassersdorf, Switzerland, during an approach to Zurich Airport. However, investigators also pointed to external deficiencies at other levels.

According to the BFU, the approach to Runway 28 had not been equipped with a ground-based altitude-alert system despite earlier recommendations, and the hill that the aircraft hit had not been reported to Jeppesen and thus was not depicted on the approach charts. Additionally, the investigators said minimal sight limits in effect at the time of the accident were not appropriate; meteorological conditions from the airport weather service were not representative of actual conditions encountered by the crew during descent; and Crossair management failed to react appropriately to the captain’s errors during his tenure at Crossair.

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