The TAME Boeing 727-200 which crashed into high ground in cloud climbing out of Bogota Airport did not have its transponder switched on as requested, according to the head of the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Abel Jimenez. This is believed to be a factor in the accident, on 20 April, because controllers would not have been able to see the aircraft's height. Information from the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder indicates that when controllers notified the pilot that he was off course and called for the transponder to be switched on, it was too late, the CAA reveals.
Source: Flight International
