The crash of a Turkish Airlines plane shortly before landing at Schiphol airport last year was due to a combination of circumstances, including a faulty altitude meter and ‘inadequate response’ from the pilots, according to the official report into the incident.

The report also criticises the actions of air traffic control officials for not being clear enough in their instructions as the plane came into land.
Nine people were killed when the Boeing 737 appeared to drop out of the sky early on the morning of February 25, 2009.
Tests
But according to the Volkskrant, the report by the Dutch safety board, shows the crew of the plane may have been able to prevent the accident.
Tests using a simulator show that if the crew had acted immediately the aircraft began to lose speed it would not have crashed. But it took nine seconds for the pilots to fully open the throttle – a standard procedure if a plane has too little speed to stay in the air, the paper states.

Altitude
The safety board report concludes the pilots had not been given sufficient training to deal with the situation. Nor had they been informed about problems with the altimeter, which measure how high the aircraft is flying.
The cockpit voice record shows the pilot realised the altimeter was faulty but did not know what the consequences were.
In addition, aircraft maker Boeing was aware of the the technical problem with the altimeter but did not deem it a safety risk, the report states.
In their preliminary report on the crash last March, accident investigators said a faulty altitude meter had led to the engine shutting down. The plane was being flown on automatic pilot and eyewitnesses said it appeared to fall from the sky.
Damages
The report is likely to play an important role in several legal claims for damages arising from the crash. Two American law firms, Kreindler & Kreindler and Clifford Law have begun proceedings against Boeing.
The Boeing crashed around 10.30 am on February 25 into fields close to Schiphol. Nine people were killed, the four crew and five passengers. A further 80 were injured. Four of those killed worked for Boeing.
Boeing has so far declined to comment on the report’s findings.
Lawyer Maya Spetter, who is working with Kreindler & Kreindler, told the Volkskrant the report contained nothing new. ”The most important conclusion for us is that the plane would not have crashed if the altimeter had been working,’ she said.
For the full report in English, click here