Pilot error not likely cause of plane crash, says ex-pilot

"The pilots did what they needed to. The plane was flying on the planned route," Bakstein said yesterday to Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad. Described as an experienced former pilot, he reportedly made his assessment based on conversations recorded between pilots and the Schiphol control tower before the crash.

"The pilots do not seem to have made a mistake when [in the process of] landing the plane," he noted. Five Turks and four Americans were killed when the Boeing 737-800 plunged into a muddy field short of the runway at Schiphol Airport on Feb. 25. Among the dead were three pilots and a flight attendant.

As they attempt to discover the cause of the crash, investigators say the accident may have been caused by any of a wide range of factors, from weather-related issues to insufficient fuel, navigational error, pilot fatigue or birds.

Turkish Pilots Association (TALPA) Vice Chairman Sava? ?en, however, said in a news conference on Friday that a Boeing heavy aircraft appeared to have landed on the same runway just two minutes before the THY plane. ?en speculated that wake turbulence, a sort of air turbulence caused by a pair of vortices trailing in the wake of an aircraft's wing tips, could have hit the descending Turkish plane, disrupting its flight. He blamed the Schiphol control tower for failing to issue full information to the THY plane about the previous heavy plane landing on the runway.

The Dutch daily noted that results of an examination into the black box of the plane may be made public this coming Wednesday.

Dutch passengers of the doomed THY flight are preparing to sue, but it's not clear if either Turkey or Holland will be the defendant in the cases. As the accident's Dutch victims plan to file for compensation, they are await the official explanation for the cause of the crash, expected to be released later this week. Passengers of the downed flight have collaborated in launching a Web site to gather support and have retained lawyer Lachman Soedamah.

Soedamah said it is not clear against which country --  the Netherlands or Turkey -- compensation cases will be filed because the cause of the accident has not yet been determined.