NP Rank:
Russian passion Killer Freed after 2 years
This is a tragic story that started in 2002
On July 1, 2002, Skyguide was operating with a single air
traffic controller who told the pilot of the Russian Tupolev plane to
descend to avoid a collision, even though early-warning instruments
aboard the plane had told the pilots to climb.
The DHL Boeing 757’s automatic anti-collision system also instructed its pilots to descend to the same level.
The plane’s tail fin sliced open the Russian passenger jet and
both aircraft disappeared from radar screens 15 seconds later.
Sixty-nine people on the Russian jet, most of them children, as well as
two pilots on the German plane were killed.
Skyguide operated with “severe organizational deficiencies” while controlling air space over much of southern Germany.
Source: airwise
Vitaly Kaloyev, convicted of murdering a Swiss air traffic controller he blamed for the deaths of his wife and children, has returned home.The 51-year-old was found guilty of premeditated homicide in 2005 after he hacked Danish born Peter Nielsen to death in a frenzied attack.
Nielsen was the only person on duty for Swiss company Skyguide when a Russian plane collided with a cargo jet over Germany in July 2002.
Kaloyev’s wife and two children were among the 71 people who died. Kaloyev flew to Germany after the crash.
He apparently pulled his daughter’s dead body from the wreckage. His wife and son were said to be unrecognisable.
Kaloyev, who was angry because Skyguide failed to apologise for his loss, eventually tracked Nielsen down to his home in Switzerland.
He wanted to show Nielsen pictures of his children to make him understand the gravity of what had happened.
This picture shows the bedroom of his wife Svetlana, Diana and Konstantin in their home in Vladikavkaz.
Kaloyev says he remembers the photographs dropping to the ground but then says his mind went blank.
Nielsen’s bloodsoaked body was later found to have been stabbed 17 times.
The crash is Germany’s worst air disaster.
Kaloyev’s sentence was reduced on appeal in July - the hearing ruled that he had acted with diminished responsibility.
His lawyers have always claimed that his experiences pushed him over the edge.
Kaloyev’s story, which has received a great deal of media attention, has brought him widespread sympathy in Russia.
Source: SKY
Photos: Sky news
Crowd Power
-
mpress
Miami Beach, Florida, United States









Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (6)
at 13:03 on November 13th, 2007
What an incredible story..hard to really blame the guy, although murder can never really be condoned. I like to think the swiss air controller was having a hard enough time living his life, knowing he caused the deaths of that many people.
at 13:53 on November 13th, 2007
Mpress, reading through your article I actually have a few questions: where are those photos from? Are they the photos the man brought to the victim's home? The first picture looks like a newswire photo from the story.
Also, the first few paragraphs seem to be from this source:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0QXQ/is_2006_Dec_18/ai_n17154386
Just curious if you wrote that original article, or planned to source it later?
Thanks
at 14:18 on November 13th, 2007
all the photos are from the original Sky source story. It did not say if those are the photos he had with him.
the first few paragraphs are from the lawsuit I have been trying to find the source I lost it while posting the story but will get it soon.
at 14:42 on November 13th, 2007
mpress,thanks for this--great work here, and thanks for following up on Rob's questions so quickly. Model NP usage!
Good stuff.
at 15:21 on November 13th, 2007
mpress, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 15:22 on November 13th, 2007