El Al confirmed today that its cargo aircraft, which crashed in Amsterdam six years ago, contained cargo of 190 liters of a chemical substance known as DMPP, destined for the biological institute in Ness Ziona. It is possible to produce Sarine nerve gas from the substance. Foreign reports, which were denied in Israel, stated that the Ness Ziona biological institute engages in the production of biological warfare.
However, El Al claims there is nothing new in the report published in the Dutch media yesterday, which stated that chemical substance was aboard the aircraft. The company says that the list of the aircraft’s contents and the cargo’s bill of lading were forwarded to the authorities in Holland immediately following the accident.
El Al’s Boeing 747-200 cargo aircraft nosedived into a residential building in a southern Amsterdam neighborhood, shortly after its takeoff on October 4 1992. Forty three people were killed in the crash, including the crew.
According to the El Al spokesman, the cargo complied with all international regulations, and its existence on the aircraft was known to the Dutch authorities immediately after the accident. He added that according to international aviation law, it is permitted to transfer the dangerous substance on either passenger or cargo planes in line with detailed packaging regulations.
The spokesman added that El Al did not hide from the world that it flew the substance, and it forwarded all the package of documents attached to the cargo - the bill of lading; declaration of the forwarding company on the cargo’s packaging; an El Al examination certificate that the packaging was done according to international regulations; "declaration of cargo" that all the substances were indeed loaded onto the aircraft; and a document signed by the pilot that all the cargo was loaded onto the aircraft.
In response to a question on the danger of forwarding a chemical substance of this nature, El Al said that the substance was a raw material transferred by El Al in accordance with international standards, and that the company had no information on what was done with the substance.
According to the findings of El Al’s inquiry committee, the accident was caused by a failure in the engine suspension system in Boeing 747 aircraft. Following the accident, Boeing changed its suspension for the engine structure in all its aircraft of this type.
Published by Israel's Business Arena October 1, 1998