WIRE: 03/31/2001 8:51 am ET

Crew error blamed in Indian air crash, 60 killed

NEW DELHI, March 31 (Reuters) - Human error caused an air crash which killed 60 people in India last year, a court of inquiry said in its report submitted on Saturday. The Boeing 737-200 operated by the state-run Alliance Air had crashed into a housing estate while it was descending to land at Patna airport in eastern India.

All six crew members, 49 passengers and five people on the ground died in the accident on July 17, 2000.

"The court of inquiry determined that the cause of the accident was loss of control of the aircraft due to human error (air crew)," a government statement quoting from the inquiry report said.

"The crew had not followed the correct approach procedure," it said.

The court headed by a senior retired airforce official said the aircraft was airworthy and well maintained.

The presence of ageing aircraft in the fleet of India's state-run airlines had prompted severe criticism after the Patna aircrash.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20010331_384.html

-- Carl Jenkins (somewherepress@aol.com), March 31, 2001