Press Release

2 March 04

Mostar Airport & ATC Controllers

Good Morning, I have two brief points today.

My first point …There have been questions about the type of navigational equipment used at Mostar airport. While it would be inappropriate for SFOR to speculate on the cause of the tragic accident involving the President of Macedonia's aircraft on Thursday 26 Feb 04, in order to facilitate informed reporting, the following detail may be useful:

· SFOR controls the ATC at Mostar airport. All ATC staff are qualified in accordance with internationally accepted accreditation practice. The equipment is modern, serviced and maintained regularly and subject to daily checks. SFOR uses the airport for its own aircraft and has every confidence in all aspects of safety.

· The approach to Mostar uses VHF Omnidirectional Range / Distance Measuring Equipment (VOR/DME) navigational equipment. This equipment emits a radio beam that allows an approaching aircraft to precisely identify it's position in relation to the airport or the navigational aid. There is no radar coverage of the approach, so the control tower is only aware of the last reported position transmitted over the radio by the pilot. This type of ATC service is called Procedural Service and is used extensively throughout the world at airports without high traffic volumes. The pilot follows written procedures for the airport and conducts his own final approach based on the read out from the VOR/DME equipment and the airport procedures.

SFOR can confirm that the tapes recordings of the ATC conversations with the pilot have been handed over to the BiH investigation team. SFOR will continue to fully support the inquiry being conducted on behalf on the Ministry for Transport and Communication.

My second point…I can confirm that the ATC members of DetAir Mostar are still in BiH. There has been much speculation as to the where about of these individuals. They have been interviewed and are available for further interviews by the investigation team.
Thank you.