Swiss concede blame on air crash

SWITZERLAND conceded yesterday that its air traffic controllers were at least partly to blame for the midair collision of a Russian charter jet and a cargo plane which killed 71 people.

At a memorial ceremony near the crash site in southern Germany, Swiss transport Minister Moritz Leuenberger sought to address Russian anger about early statements from Swiss air traffic control that appeared to blame the pilot of the Bashkirian Airlines plane.

‘‘The confrontation with the terrible notion of being part of the cause of the death of 71 people led us into helpless initial reactions, to confused and confusing information, to lapses,’’ Mr Leuenberger said, expressing condolences to the victims on behalf of Switzerland.