'Compression problem' caused crash - paper

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 October 1998, 19:07 GMT]
A 'compression problem' caused the ill-fated Lion Air flight from Jaffna to crash off the Mannar coast said the Sunday Times weekly, quoting Sri Lankan Air Force sources.

Air Force sources told The Sunday Times yesterday the last message from the Russian pilot of Lion Air flight 602 had been that the plane had developed a compression problem.

"Air Force experts said a compression problem could have developed due to a technical defect, but sabotage could not be ruled out," said the paper.

The Sunday Times also said that the Sri Lankan MoD had given permission for a private diving firm to launch a full-scale rescue operation.

"Escorted by representatives of the International Red Cross (ICRC) the team of divers left yesterday for Iranaitivu, north of Mannar, the general area where Lion Air's AN-24 plane crashed" said the paper.

Iranaitivu is an island off the Mannar coast.

Seven experts sent by the AN-24 manufacturing company in Ukraine were flying out to join the local divers in the rescue effort said the paper, quoting Lion Air officials.