Plane crash still a mystery

2008-11-27
TBT Staff in cooperation with BNS

TALLINN - investigators have said that there was no indication of technical or health problems that could have caused the deadly plane crash near Parnu in July.

The pilot, a 58-year-old Swedish national, was the only person on board the plane. He was killed in the accident.

Experts thoroughly examined the wreck of the aircraft but found no indication of a technical defect, the chairman of the accident investigating commission, Jens Haug, said.

"All investigation proceedings are practically completed and the facts assembled, but it's not fit to talk about the presumable causes of the accident before the final report is out," he said.

Nonetheless, he singled out a few circumstances that shed light on the crash. For instance, investigators found a broken ignition key in the wreck, and it has been disclosed earlier that the fuel valve was in a shut-off position. The experts also established that the engine lacked power although it was running at the time of the crash.

All this appears to indicate that the pilot had turned off fuel before the accident and was fiddling with the ignition, but the reasons for his action are not yet clear.