2001 Linate Airport runway collision

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Expand Italian Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 686, a McDonnell Douglas MD-87 airliner carrying 110 people bound for Copenhagen, Denmark, collided on take-off with a Cessna Citation CJ2<ref name="ANSV final report">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp business jet carrying four people bound for Paris, France, on 8 October 2001 at Linate Airport in Milan, Italy. All 114 people on both aircraft were killed, as well as four people on the ground.<ref name=jthtpln>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=pcoitr>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=wtbcsn>Template:Cite news</ref>

The subsequent investigation determined that the collision was caused by several nonfunctioning and nonconforming safety systems, standards, and procedures at the airport.<ref name="ANSV final report" />Template:Rp It remains the deadliest accident in Italian aviation history.<ref name="pcoitr" />

Aircraft and crew

The collision involved two airlines; SAS and Air Evex. The larger of the two aircraft was a McDonnell-Douglas MD-87. The cockpit crew consisted of Captain Joakim Gustafsson and First Officer Anders Hyllander, both aged 36. Gustafsson had been hired by SAS in 1990 and had more than 5,800 hours of flight time. He had logged approximately 230 hours in the MD-87. Hyllander was hired by the airline in 1997. At the time of the accident, he had more than 4,300 total flying hours. He was more experienced in the aircraft type than his captain, having logged 2,000 hours of flight time in the MD-87.<ref name="ANSV final report" />Template:Rp The four Cabin Crew consisted of Purser Lise Lotte Anderson (57) with 30 years' service at SAS, Flight Attendants Olaf Jakobsson (49) with 29 years' service, Eiler Danielson (27) with 2 years' service, and Janne Penttinen (30) with 1 years' service.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

The second aircraft was a Cessna Citation 525-A. There were two German pilots aboard. The captain, 36-year-old Horst Königsmann, had approximately 5,000 total flight hours logged, of which roughly 2,400 were accumulated in the Citation. The first officer, 64-year-old Martin Schneider, had approximately 12,000 flight hours' experience, of which 2,000 hours were in the Citation.<ref name="ANSV final report" />Template:Rp One of the passengers was Luca Fossati, chairman of Star – Stabilimento Alimentare S.p.A. and owner of the Citation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Accident

The accident occurred in thick fog, with visibility reduced to less than Template:Convert. The Cessna Citation was instructed to taxi from the western apron along the northern taxiway (taxiway R5),<ref name="ANSV final report" />Template:Rp and then via the northern apron to the main taxiway which runs parallel to Runway 36R,<ref name="ANSV final report" />Template:Rp a route that would have kept it clear of 36R. Instead, the pilot taxied along the southern taxi route (taxiway R6),<ref name="ANSV final report" />Template:Rp crossing Runway 36R towards the main taxiway which lay beyond it (see diagram).<ref name="ANSV final report" />Template:Rp

At 08:09:28, the MD-87 was given clearance by a different controller to take off from Runway 36R.<ref name="ANSV final report" />Template:Rp Fifty-three seconds later, the MD-87 aircraft, travelling at about Template:Convert, collided with the Cessna. The right main landing gear and right engine of the MD-87 were detached on impact. The pilots advanced the throttles and were able to get airborne, reaching an approximate altitude of 35 feet and a maximum airspeed of 166 knots. They then reduced engine power after noticing a loss of thrust due to debris ingestion, and the aircraft made contact with the runway twelve seconds after becoming airborne. Gustafsson applied thrust reverser and brakes and tried to guide the plane through its control surfaces, but the aircraft exited the runway and collided with a luggage hangar located near the runway's end, at a speed of approximately Template:Convert. The crash and subsequent fire killed all occupants of the MD-87. In addition, four Italian ground personnel in the hangar were killed and four more were injured.<ref name="Paxandfates">Template:Cite book</ref>

All occupants of the MD-87 were killed by blunt trauma from the impact with the hangar. 54 of them, mainly in the back of the aircraft, suffered severe burns, requiring their bodies to be identified using forensic dentistry or DNA records.<ref name="Paxandfates" /><ref name="ANSV final report" />Template:Rp

Causes

The accident occurred less than a month after the September 11 attacks and the day after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan began, but the Italian government was quick to rule out a terrorist attack as the cause.<ref name="usatoday">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This was subsequently confirmed by the investigations that followed.<ref name="ANSV final report" />Template:Rp

The accident was investigated by the National Agency for the Safety of Flight (ANSV). The ANSV's final report was published on 20 January 2004 and concluded that the "immediate cause" of the accident was the incursion of the Cessna aircraft onto the active runway. However, the ANSV stopped short of placing the blame entirely on the Cessna pilots, who had become lost in the fog. Their report identified deficiencies in the airport layout and procedures.<ref name="ANSV final report" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Italian Report on the disaster Template:In lang.</ref>

Linate Airport was operating without a functioning ground radar system at the time, despite having had a new system approved on 30 March 1995. The previous system had been decommissioned on 29 November 1999, but the replacement had not been fully installed.<ref name="ANSV final report" />Template:Rp The new system came online a few months later. Guidance signs along the taxiways were obscured, or badly worn, and were later found not to meet regulations. After the pilots mistakenly turned onto the R6 taxiway that led to the runway, there were no signs by which they could recognize where they were. When they stopped at a taxiway stop-marking, and correctly reported its identifier, S4, the ground controller disregarded this identification because it was not on his maps and was unknown to him. Motion sensing runway incursion alarms were present, but had been deactivated to prevent false alarms from ground vehicles or animals. The ground controller's verbal directions used terminology to designate aprons, taxiways, and runways, which did not match their on-the-ground signage and labels. Lastly, neither pilot of the Cessna was certified for landings with visibility less than Template:Convert, but had landed at the airport an hour before the disaster with a visibility reported by air traffic control of Template:Convert.<ref name="ANSV final report" />Template:Rp

Aftermath

On 16 April 2004, a Milan court found four people guilty for the disaster. Airport director Vincenzo Fusco and air-traffic controller Paolo Zacchetti were both sentenced to eight years in prison. Francesco Federico, former head of the airport, and Sandro Gualano, former head of the air traffic control agency, received sentences of six and a half years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The pardon law issued by the Italian Parliament on 29 July 2006 reduced all convictions by three years. On 7 July 2006, Fusco and Federico were acquitted by the Milan Appeals Court. The controller Zacchetti's sentence was reduced to three years. In addition three more people were sentenced for multiple manslaughter and negligent disaster: former ENAV director general Fabio Marzocca to four years and four months, and former SEA airports agency officials Antonio Cavanna and Lorenzo Grecchi each to three years and three months. On 20 February 2008 the Supreme Court of Cassation upheld the acquittal of Fusco and Federico and confirmed five convictions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> (Initially, in late 2002, eleven officials and functionaries had been charged with manslaughter.)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The initial eight-year sentence for Zacchetti prompted outrage among air traffic controllers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His sentence has been questioned in aviation safety law commentary.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Victims

Nationality SAS 686 Cessna Ground Total
Passengers Crew Passengers Crew
Denmark 16 3 0 0 0 19
Finland 6 0 0 0 0 6
Germany 0 0 0 2 0 2
Italy 58 0 2 0 4 64
Norway 3 0 0 0 0 3
Romania 1 0 0 0 0 1
South Africa 1 0 0 0 0 1
Sweden 17 3 0 0 0 20
United Kingdom 2* 0 0 0 0 2
Total 104 6 2 2 4 118
* One passenger listed as a Briton by SAS held United Kingdom and United States citizenships.<ref name="Brinames" />
The memorial sculpture Infinity Pain

Victims of the crash included nationals of nine different countries.<ref name="Brinames">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Most of the victims were Italian and Scandinavian.

Four memorial services were held in honour of the SAS MD-87 victims. On 12 October 2001, three separate ceremonies were held, with one in Denmark, one in Norway, and one in Sweden. On 13 October, a fourth ceremony was held in Italy.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

In March 2002, a forest containing 118 beech trees called Beech Forest (Template:Langx) was inaugurated as a memorial to the victims in the Forlanini Park near the airport.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A sculpture by the Swedish artist Christer Bording donated by SAS, called Infinity Pain, was placed in the centre of the forest.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The disaster devastated the Swedish go-kart community as some of the country's most promising young drivers were on the flight after attending an event in Parma. After the disaster, the Swedish national motorsports club started a memorial fund together with some of the relatives. The fund awards annual stipends to promising Swedish youth in go-kart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Dramatization

In 2012 the accident was featured on the 11th season of the Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic TV series Mayday, in an episode entitled "The Invisible Plane". The episode featured interviews with accident investigators, and a dramatization of the crash and investigation.<ref name="Mayday Invisible Plane">Template:Cite episode</ref>

See also

References

Template:Reflist

National Agency for the Safety of Flight

Scandinavian Airlines

Other

Template:McDonnell Douglas DC-9 family Template:Citation family Template:Aviation incidents and accidents in 2001 Template:Aviation accidents and incidents in Italy Template:SAS Group Template:Portal bar

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=2001_Linate_Airport_runway_collision&oldid=190210"