THE HAGUE (AFP) — An altimeter problem caused the crash last week of a Turkish Airlines plane as it approached Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, killing nine people and injuring more than 80, investigators said Wednesday.
"The voice recordings and black boxes in the possession of the Dutch Safety Board indicate that irregularities occurred during the plane's descent," board chief Peter van Vollenhoeven told journalsts.
"At a height of 1,950 feet, around 700 metres, the left altimeter suddenly showed a change in altitude, which it transmitted to the automatic pilot, that had been engaged for the landing," he said.
The Boeing 737-800, en route from Istanbul to Amsterdam with 127 passengers and seven crew, crashed and broke into three pieces some three kilometres (two miles) short of the runway at Schiphol on February 25.
Five Turks and four Americans among the passengers were killed and 86 hurt, of whom 28 were still in hospital Wednesday.
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