Italy Plane Crash: '100 Dead' -- Breaking -- Update

Sky News -- Great Britain ^ | October 8, 2001 | Sky News Staff

[Clinton's a rapist]

It is understood four passengers in the German Cessna died in the accident at the airport on the edge of Italy's financial capital.

Doesn't sound like a suicide attack, if there were four in the Cessna.

[SongathuSouth]

The airline is co-owned by Denmark and other Scandinavian countries. Denmark has a growing Moslem minority, and has recently taken the strongest measures of any European country to be "monocultural--Danish" and not the mishmash that the bureaucrats in Brussels prefer.

[Mr. Mulliner]

Retribution for the "peace" demonstrations in Italy yesterday?

jk - please don't flame me!

[csvset]

Television reports mentioned fog. FWIW, I've flown out of Milan twice. Both times, the airport was fog bound & resulted in delays.

[aculeus]

from Electronic Telegraph
100 killed in Milan aircrash

(Filed: 08/10/2001)

MORE than 100 people are feared dead in a collision at Milan airport when an SAS plane preparing for take-off hit a smaller craft and crashed into a building this morning.

SAS flight SK 686 made a sudden manoeuvre to avoid a small plane Officials said that rescue workers were still recovering bodies at the scene, but gave no further details.

All 104 passengers on the SAS jet were believed to have been killed, as well as the four people aboard the small Cessna plane it was reported to have hit at Linate airport. The Cessna belonged to a German firm.

The airport management company, SEA, said that between 20 and 25 people would normally have been working in the maintenance building destroyed by the crash.

According to initial reports, SAS flight SK 686 was preparing to take off for Copenhagen when it made a sudden manoeuvre to avoid a small plane.

However, the SAS plane, a Boeing MD-87, hit the smaller plane before ploughing into an airport building and bursting into flames, reports said.

[Cboldt]

I flew in and out one time (June), but from Malpensa. Was crystal clear coming in at 7 AM, unlimited visibility. Outward bound in the afternoon was overcast. I am looking forward to a repeat assignment in November -- Al Italia actually has very good food.

[snopercod]

"Runway incursions" have killed a lot of people on the ground at airports around the world.

Having flown a few Cessnas myself, I can tell you it is difficult finding your way around a large airport when it's sunny outside, let alone foggy.

If it's an unfamiliar airport, and you don't have a good taxiway map in front of you, you are in deep kimchee. In that case the disoriented pilot should request "progressive taxi" instructions, and let the ground controller tell him which way to go. Of course that is impossible when the tower controller can't see the aircraft.

US airports have upgraded their "traffic signs" - especially at a runway intersection - to help prevent this sort of thing, and lighted them internally. I wonder if the Italians have done the same.

Of course, it's entirely possible that the Italian ground controller cleared the Cessna to cross the active runway, while the other controller cleared the airliner for takeoff. Happens all the time. They're on different frequencies.

[Illbay]

Sorry, you're flamed. That was in extremely poor taste.

[OldFriend]

What a disgusting thing to say. How about a prayer for the victims of this crash.

[Mr. Mulliner]

And you assumed I didn't?

[Mr. Mulliner]

I'm sorry, you two are right about my poor taste. I can only say that a couple of hours earlier I was very irritated with Italy when I read about massive anti-War demonstrations. The next mention of Italy was this plane crash and my mind went there. Shouldn't have put my odd thoughts into words for all to see though, I admit.

[csvset]

Italy is chock full of leftists, so protests shouldn't come as a surprise. OTOH, they've had plenty of problems with terrorists in the past.

I recall reading about the rescue of general Dozier, the American army general that was kidnapped. The Italians did a good job rescuing him.

[AntiKev]

I find it hard to believe that a little Cessna did this to an airliner. Unless the wing tanks collided, but that's barely possible. Something here smells...anybody else get the faint aroma of cattle?

[OldFriend]

No problem, believe me, I have had many of those same thoughts and sometimes worse. I even say them to friends but try not to put it up here for the good of FreeRepublic.

[OldFriend]

The larger aircraft swerved into a building to avoid the smaller plane.

[Illbay]

'S allright, I've stepped in it a time or two myself. But consider: the REAL "anti-war" (read: "anti-America") rallies of concern are taking place RIGHT HERE IN OUR OWN BACKYARD. Should we then consider that any such loss of life that occurs here are in retribution for that?

And didn't we all jump (rightly so) on Falwell and Robertson for suggesting that 9/11 was "God's punishment" for America's evil?

I just think these sorts of sentiments are pointless.