Human Error Likely
The morning after the fatal accident, investigators were looking at pilot error as a possible cause of the collision.
The collision between a DHL cargo plane and a Russian passenger jet took place over the southern German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
Swiss officials, who control the air space in the border region, said Swiss air traffic controllers had told the Russian airline to descend or dive before the collision, but the Russian pilot reacted too late.
According to Anton Maag, chief of the air traffic control tower in Zurich, the Russian plane began to descend only after a third request from air traffic controllers.
By that time, the Boeing 757's automatic collision warning system had issued an order to descend, Maag said.
Amid reports that the Russian pilots may have had poor command of the English language, Russian aviation officials denied the speculation and said the pilot had years of experience and was fluent in English.
Experts were also looking at the possibility that ground controllers had entered incorrect data for the flight paths, or that one of the two planes had failed to follow its approved flight path.
Flame in the Sky
The picturesque area around Lake Constance, which is popular resort area close to the German, Swiss and Austrian borders, was the scene of frantic rescue and emergency work this morning as debris from the planes lay scattered over a 25-mile area.
Witnesses said they saw a flame in the sky and then heard an incredible bang. Parts of the planes, which had caught fire in the explosion, then came crashing to the ground.
Residents of the nearby village of Owingen said there seemed to be three sections falling to the ground, the last one exploding in a blinding flash.
Tragic End to Excursion
In Russia today, grieving parents of the youths en route to the UNESCO festival in Barcelona were attempting to catch flights to Germany as President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to the relatives of the victims.
The youths were supposed to have left Saturday for Spain, but missed their connection. Bashkirian Airlines then organized a special flight to Barcelona, airline officials said, so that the youths would not miss the UNESCO festival.
The teenagers and children were from the political elite families of Russia's oil-rich Bashkortostan region. Many of the youths had the same last names, prompting speculation that some families had lost more than one members.
New Version of an Old Plane
Tupolev is an old Soviet aircraft manufacturer which made large transport planes in the style of 727s. Tu-154s are one of the most common Russian planes used for medium-range flights.
Russian aviation sources said the Tu-154 in Monday's collision was fitted with the latest navigational and communications equipment, including a Dutch-made collision avoidance system, and met with international safety standards.
While Tu-154s have had several accidents in the past few years, it is still not clear how much of the blame for these accidents could be attributed to bad maintenance. In February, an Iranian-owned Tu-154 crashed in Iran killing all 119 aboard.
ABCNEWS' Mike Lee in Germany and Claudine Weinbrenn in London contributed to this report.
[url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/germany020702.html]Here's the Story[/url]