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BERLIN (AP) — Swiss air accident investigators say a vintage propeller airplane spiraled downward before slamming near-vertically into a mountain earlier this month, in a crash that killed all 20 people on board.
The Junkers Ju-52 operated by local airline Ju-Air crashed in the Alps in southeastern Switzerland on Aug. 4. Officials have cautioned that the investigation will be difficult because the 79-year-old plane had no black boxes.
The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board said in a brief initial report Tuesday that the aircraft took a left turn which developed into a downward spiral just before the collision. It didn't draw any conclusions from that finding and didn't say how long the investigation might take.
The victims came from Switzerland and Austria. The plane was flying from Locarno to its base near Zurich.
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