'Series of errors' caused Air Algerie crash

A French judicial probe has found a series of ‘tragic’ errors caused an Air Algerie plane to crash in the Malian desert last year with 116 people on board, Le Figaro reported Thursday.

Two judges investigating the crash, which included 54 French nationals among the dead, found the "failure to activate the anti-icing system" was the main cause of the crash, the French daily reported on its website.

The French civil aviation authority BEA in April said the McDonnell Douglas 83 jet ran into trouble after the crew did not activate the system, causing the failure of certain sensors.

But the judicial probe also found several other factors contributed to the crash of Flight AH5017 in Mali, just half an hour into its journey from Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou to Algiers.

The situation would have been compounded when the pilot attempted to regain altitude by pulling back on the joystick, Le Figaro added.

The flight simulator system used to train the crew was also not exactly the same as the actual plane, while the pilots were not experienced at flying in Africa's specific meteorological conditions, the newspaper added, citing the judicial probe.

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