MILAN (Reuters) - Aviation investigators and magistrates were on Tuesday trying to pin down the cause and probe possible legal responsibility for a crash that killed 118 people in what is believed to be Italy's worst air disaster.A Scandinavian jet collided with a light plane in heavy fog and crashed into a hangar at Milan's Linate airport. All 110 people on the SAS MD-87, all four people on the Cessna Citation II and four baggage handlers in a hangar were killed. (Read map caption below)
Authorities ruled out terrorism. Officials said the small plane was almost certainly at fault in an accident aggravated by heavy fog at Milan's second-largest airport.
But in a twist that was expected to be the main focus of a legal probe opened by Milan magistrates, officials said a ground radar system that had been installed had not been turned on and made fully operational for bureaucratic reasons.
``Any eventual penal responsibilities will be determined by the magistrate but if there is anyone responsible they will have to pay,'' said Interior Minister Claudio Scajola.
The situation on Monday was complicated by fog which left a visibility of about 100 yards, making it difficult for the control tower to keep track of planes on the ground.
MAP CAPTION:
All 114 passengers and crew on two planes that collided at Milan's Linate airport on October 8, 2001 died in the accident, Italian Transport Minister Pietro Lunardi said. (Reuters Graphic)