Human error caused the air accident that killed Ecuador's
Defense Minister Guadalupe Larriva in January, head of the
committee investigating the accident Leonardo Barreiro said on
Wednesday.
Larriva, her 17-year-old daughter and five military staff died
on Jan. 24 in a mid-air collision between two Gazelle helicopters
390 km southwest of Quito.
The 31-strong investigating team, which included military
experts, foreign researchers and representatives of the Socialist
Party, ruled out sabotage or technical failures in the accident,
Barreiro told the media.
"We are working hard to make copies of the 1,200-page document,"
he said.
The results of the investigation will be delivered to the joint
command of Ecuador's armed forces, who will transfer the document
to the Defense Ministry and the palace of the government, he
said.
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa told reporters on Tuesday
that investigators had completed their work.
Once the report reaches his desk, he will form an evaluation
committee to establish blame and begin to try the guilty at courts,
the president said.
Shortly after the accident, the French makers of the two
helicopters' engines ruled out a technical fault, saying the motors
had been working at the time of the collision.
Acting Defense Minister Ricardo Patino said on last Friday that
a military report unveiled a series of mistakes with the planning,
operation and security of the helicopters' flight.
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The government sacked army chief Pedro Machado following the crash,
blaming him in part for the helicopter crash.
Larriva, 50, was a former Socialist Party leader, and died after
just nine days as the country first ever woman defense
minister.
(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2007)
