Swiss controller cites 'errors'

"Errors cropped up" across a whole network, said the Zurich controller

ZURICH, Switzerland -- The Swiss air traffic controller on duty when 71 people died in a mid-air crash over southern Germany says that "network errors" contributed to the disaster and told how he mourned the Russian children who died.

He was speaking as 28 victims of the tragedy -- most of them young people -- were being buried in an emotional ceremony. in Ufa, Russia. (Russian memorial)

"On the night of the accident I was part of a network of people, computers, surveillance and communications equipment, and regulations," the unidentified Skyguide controller said in a statement sent to Swiss news agency SDA and seen by Reuters.

"All these pieces must work together seamlessly and without error and be coordinated to one another. The tragic accident shows that errors cropped up in this network," he added.

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"As an air traffic controller it is my duty and responsibility to prevent such accidents," he said.

He promised full cooperation with investigators probing the July 1 crash near the Swiss-German border in which a Russian Tu-154 passenger jet carrying 52 schoolchildren to a holiday in Spain and a DHL cargo plane collided and burst into flames.

Half a continent away, thousands of mourners, clutching flowers and photographs of their lost loved ones, gathered in Ufa, capital of Russia's Bashkortostan region, to bid farewell to the last young victims of the crash.

Parents, friends and classmates packed the central square of Ufa to say prayers and lay flowers on the coffins of the 28 victims being buried.

The funeral went ahead without Swiss President Kaspar Villiger. Berne and Moscow agreed on Friday that he should stay away for fear of angering bereaved parents upset at initial Swiss allegations -- later withdrawn -- that the Bashkirian Airlines pilot was to blame for the crash.

A Skyguide spokesman confirmed that the statement was authentic but did not name the controller, who went into shock after the jets went down, their transponders still showing up on radar screens for 30 seconds after impact but their radios silent.

"I mourn with the relatives and express my deep sympathy for them. I am especially stricken by the fact that many children had to lose their lives. Many hopeful prospects were wiped out.

Their parents will miss their laughter and warmth.

"As a father, I know that this loss leaves a hole that will hurt into the future as well. But I am also thinking of the families of the crews and people accompanying the children. They have also suffered irreplaceable losses," he said.

Floral tributes and prayers for crash victim Arsen Akhmetov, 15

Investigators say the controller was monitoring two radar screens and two radio frequencies alone while his partner took a break given relatively light traffic close to midnight.

Swiss controllers said their collision alert system was out of action for maintenance, and work on their telephones meant a warning call from German colleagues never got through.

Flight voice recorder information released by German officials showed that about 45 seconds before the July 1 crash, automatic warning systems on the two planes simultaneously told pilots to take emergency manoeuvres, directing the Russian plane to climb and the DHL International cargo plane to descend.

But one second later, Swiss air traffic control told the Russian plane to descend. Faced with conflicting orders, the Russian pilot hesitated until the order was repeated by air traffic control 14 seconds later.

The Russian then acknowledged in English that he had received the air traffic controller's order, and overrode the computer directions.