=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2004/03/10/f= inancial1737EST0304.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, March 10, 2004 (AP) Swiss International Air Lines chief quits amid crash lawsuit speculation PETER HODY, Associated Press Writer (03-10) 14:37 PST ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- Andre Dose, chief of Switzerland's struggling national carrier, has quit amid intense media speculation that he could face legal action over a 2001 crash that killed 24 people, the airline said Wednesday. Swiss International Air Lines said Dose's decision to leave the company = he has headed since it was launched two years ago "follows a comprehensive analysis of the situation by himself and the board." Current chairman Pieter Bouw will take over as chief executive, said the airline, which is known as Swiss. Bouw was head of Dutch airline KLM from 1991 to 1997. Swiss said in a statement that its board "condemns the imputations, personal attacks and prejudgments from certain circles to which Andre Dose has been exposed in the last few days and weeks." The Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office last month said it had opened an investigation, on suspicion of negligent homicide and grievous bodily harm by negligence, into the Nov. 24, 2001, crash of Crossair Flight CRX3597. Swiss was created out of Crossair -- which Dose headed -- in March 2002. Accident investigators have said the crash was caused by an "overtired" pilot who flew too low. The scheduled flight from Berlin, arriving in rain and snow, crashed into woodland on approach to Zurich Airport, killing 24 and injuring nine other people. The report found that the pilot, who died in the crash, had been working for more than 13 hours when the crash occurred, and had exceeded maximum duty times in the two days before the accident as well. The report also criticized the co-pilot, who also was killed, for failing to step in. Other factors that contributed to the crash included the lack of an alarm system on Zurich's runway 28 to warn pilots if they were too low, and the system for measuring visibility at the airport was inappropriate for that runway. A range of hills over which the plane flew also were not marked on the chart the pilots were using, investigators said. Swiss said that it followed all national and international safety requirements before the crash. Last month, the airline said it had paid compensation to the families of the victims but was still facing lawsuits in Switzerland, Germany and Israel. Swiss also has suffered massive financial problems in its two years in business, although its 2003 loss of 687 million Swiss francs ($554 million) was better than forecast. The company blamed its money woes on continuing global economic instability, the SARS crisis, the Iraq war and major changes in European air travel due to the increasing influence of low-cost carriers. The size of the loss was boosted by restructuring costs, as Swiss slashed its fleet size and staff numbers and trimmed destinations from its schedule. The airline said Dose had shown "selfless commitment to Swiss since its inception." "He led the young company through the most turbulent of times and managed -- despite difficult overall conditions -- to initiate a corporate turnaround that has every prospect of success." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004 AP