Leuenberger admits responsibility for air crash


Moritz Leuenberger says his ministry has its share of responsibility for the Ueberlingen crash [Keystone Archive]


The Swiss transport minister, Moritz Leuenberger, says he is prepared to take political responsibility for a mid-air crash that left 71 people dead.


Answering criticism of his ministry by populist right-wing politician Christoph Blocher, the Social Democrat minister said on Monday he accepted his share of the blame for the collision between two jets in Swiss-controlled airspace over southern Germany three weeks ago.

The Swiss air traffic control agency, Skyguide, which is owned by the Swiss state, has been blamed in many quarters as responsible for the collision between a Russian passenger plane and a DHL cargo jet over Ueberlingen.

No one has been officially blamed for the accident pending the results of official inquiries, although legal proceedings have been launched in Switzerland and Germany against the lone traffic controller on duty in Zurich when the collision happened.

Germany’s air traffic controllers have however reaffirmed their support of their Swiss colleagues. Joseph Willheim, head of air security in Friedrichshafen, said on Monday that the collaboration with Skyguide is satisfactory and that no pilots have complained about the work carried out by Swiss controllers.



Independent inquiry

Leuenberger added on Monday the entire civil aviation safety system will be assessed by an independent specialist, preferably German or French, since a Swiss expert would face too many conflicts of interest.

A final report is expected by the beginning of next year. The transport minister said the inquiry should pay particular attention to the collaboration and the tasks carried out by the Federal Office for Civil Aviation, the Aircraft accident investigation bureau, the transport ministry and Skyguide.

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