Report: Crossair Crash Caused By Pilot Error | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.05.25

Airborne-NextGen-05.06.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.07.25

Airborne-Unlimited-05.01.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.02.25

Wed, Feb 04, 2004

Report: Crossair Crash Caused By Pilot Error

Claims Pilot Descended Below Minimums

A report profiling a Crossair crash near Zurich, two years ago that killed 24 people, says serious pilot errors were to blame for the accident. 
 
Switzerland's Air Accident Investigation Bureau also criticized shortcomings of the aircraft operator, Crossair. The Federal Prosecutor's Office said on Tuesday that it had opened a criminal investigation into possible negligent homicide and grievous bodily harm by negligence.

The accident report confirmed that the pilot of the Avro RJ-100 (file photo, below) descended below minimums, ignoring automatic alarm signals. The jet, which was flying from Berlin to Zurich on the night of November 24, 2001, crashed into woodland just short of the runway, killing 24 of the 33 people on board.

The report said the 57-year-old pilot of Crossair flight LX3579 was much too tired to be able to concentrate fully or make crucial decisions during the approach. The pilot had been working for more than 13 hours when the crash occurred and had also exceeded maximum duty times in the two days before the accident.

The Air Accident Investigation Bureau concluded that the pilot's "ability to concentrate and take appropriate decisions, as well as his ability to analyze complex processes were adversely affected by fatigue". It also blamed the co-pilot for not taking action to rectify the pilot's error during the instrument approach.

The report also criticized a lack of safety controls and poor pilot training at Crossair, which formed the backbone of the new national carrier, Swiss. It added that senior managers should have identified that the pilot was not in a fit state to fly.

Officials said training deficiencies unearthed by the crash investigation were not isolated. "We know of about at least 40 similar cases," the report said.

Investigators noted that the range of hills over which the plane flew was not marked on navigational charts. The Federal Office for Civil Aviation (FOCA) was also singled out for failing to supervise Crossair's training program.

In addition, the Swiss air traffic control agency, Skyguide, was criticized for only having one person on duty at the time of the accident instead of the usual four.

Even though Swiss admitted that the pilot was to blame for the crash, it defended its safety record, saying it had always met all national and international safety requirements. Swiss said it was not sure why the "highly experienced" captain had dropped below the minimum height.

The carrier pointed out that since the accident it had introduced a new flight safety program covering recruitment, training, checks, workflow and procedures throughout its operations. The company has also taken the unusual measure of creating its own Flight Safety Advisory Board. All the recommendations made by the investigators had already been put into practice, the company said.

Swiss said it had paid compensation to the families of the victims but was still facing lawsuits in Switzerland, Germany and Israel.

The investigation into another Crossair plane crash, this time in January 2000 in which ten people died, has also identified pilot error as the cause of the accident.

FMI:  www.swiss.com

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.06.25)

Aero Linx: International Federation of Airworthiness (IFA) We aim to be the most internationally respected independent authority on the subject of Airworthiness. IFA uniquely combi>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.06.25): Ultrahigh Frequency (UHF)

Ultrahigh Frequency (UHF) The frequency band between 300 and 3,000 MHz. The bank of radio frequencies used for military air/ground voice communications. In some instances this may >[...]

ANN FAQ: Q&A 101

A Few Questions AND Answers To Help You Get MORE Out of ANN! 1) I forgot my password. How do I find it? 1) Easy... click here and give us your e-mail address--we'll send it to you >[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Virtual Reality Painting--PPG Leverages Technology for Training

From 2019 (YouTube Edition): Learning To Paint Without Getting Any On Your Hands PPG's Aerospace Coatings Academy is a tool designed to teach everything one needs to know about all>[...]

Airborne 05.02.25: Joby Crewed Milestone, Diamond Club, Canadian Pilot Insurance

Also: Sustainable Aircraft Test Put Aside, More Falcon 9 Ops, Wyoming ANG Rescue, Oreo Cookie Into Orbit Joby Aviation has reason to celebrate, recently completing its first full t>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC