Jets Collide At Milan Airport; Fatality Blamed On Faulty Radar

Two planes collided at Milan's Linate Airport Monday. Experts attribute this fatal collision to the fact that the airport's ground radar was out of order. They explain that ground flight controllers are unable to see planes on their radar displays before takeoff. The ground radar at Linate was qualified as obsolete and dismantled two years ago, but it has not yet been replaced with a new one. Monday morning, the Milan airport saw a jumbo jet of Scandinavia's SAS airlines collide with a four-seater Sessna. The bigger aircraft then went off the runway to hit on the airport's luggage area and catch fire. The collision made the smaller plane burst apart. Investigators say that the aircraft collided at the moment the jumbo jet had developed maximum velocity for takeoff. Because of poor visibility, caused by fog, the pilots of the two planes had failed to sight each other on the runway. The accident killed at least 114 people-all those on board the SAS jet and the Sessna's four-member crew. There are human casualties also among airport workers who were in the luggage area as the jetliner hit the airport building. Their exact number is presently being established, with only two of the workers found alive thus far. As many as 60 bodies have been recovered from the debris by now.