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Crash: Air controllers 'broke rules'

Swiss air traffic controllers broke international protocol by leaving a single person on duty one night in 2002 when two aircraft collided over Germany, killing 71 passengers, a judge said on Tuesday . The judge, quoting from a report, opened criminal proceedings against eight employees of air traffic control firm Skyguide on Tuesday, focusing on the company's practice of letting staff work alone on supposedly quiet nights.

According to a report, a one-man operation goes against guidelines set by the ICAO," said the judge, referring to the U.N. standard-setting body the International Civil Aviation Organisation. "What is your response?

A single controller was on duty shortly before midnight on July 1, 2002, when a Russian charter and a freight plane operated by logistics company DHL collided in Swiss-controlled airspace over southern Germany Most of the victims were Russian children on holiday.

One defendant said the practice of solo control had not been a cause for concern before the accident, although Swiss authorities have now banned it. I was the boss and could have changed it. I didn't have any reason to," said an official who was head of Skyguide's Zurich operations at the time of the accident. "I viewed that as unproblematic.

The controller on duty that evening, Peter Nielsen, was later stabbed to death by a bereaved Russian who lost his wife, son and daughter on the flight. The court has not published the names of the other defendants. On trial are eight Skyguide employees charged with manslaughter for contributing to unusual circumstances that caused the mishap.

The public prosecutor has requested suspended sentences ranging from 6 to 15 months. All defendants have denied the charges.