On Monday morning, 118 people lost their lives in Milan, Italy because an eight-seater German Cessna was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Another plane, an SAS--Scandinavian Airlines System--was taxiing down the runway, nearing takeoff speed of 160mph, when it swerved away from the oncoming Cessna and plowed into a baggage storage building.

The Italian Interior Ministry quickly ruled out any connection with the September 11 terrorism and attributed the disaster to ``human error'' and the thick fog that covered the airport that morning.

The SAS plane carried 104 passengers and six crewmembers that were all killed. The Cessna held two pilots and two passengers that were killed. Four ground crew workers were still missing as of Monday. The twin-engine Cessna taxied into the rapidly approaching SAS jetliner's path after air traffic control instructed them to proceed to a different runway. According to the APPL pilots' union, the accident might have been avoided had the airport's ground radar, which tracks the movement of aircraft on the runways, been activated. As of October 1, airlines had been notified that the radar was not operational.

To compensate for the temporary loss of radar, in conditions of low visibility the rule was that all aircraft were banned from crossing runways, said Osvaldo Gammino, president of a committee representing airlines at Linate Airport.

``In this incident, it looks like the Cessna crossed the runway which suggests an error was made in terms of following the regulations. It is now up to the magistrate to determine who is at fault,'' said Gammino.

The Cessna, with two German pilots in control, was en route from Germany to Paris and had stopped in Milan to pick up its two passengers. Both were Italian businessmen.

The SAS plane's destination was Copenhagen, and had almost reached takeoff speed when it swerved away from the unexpected Cessna, smashed into the nearby hangar building, burst into flames and broke into three parts. The roof collapsed after the plane hit a cement beam, making access to the plane's cabin more difficult.

``The rescue teams went into action immediately, but it was impossible to save anyone in the planes. They are all dead,'' Pietro Lunardi, Italy's minister of transport, said.

Rescue workers used a crane to lift the building's roof, but ``the scene was not encouraging in terms of finding survivors,'' Alessandra Tripodi, a spokeswoman at the Milan Prefect's office, said. Between 20 and 30 luggage handlers and their supervisors worked in the building. So far, four are missing, two are seriously injured, and at least four are dead.

``It's the worst day in our history,'' Troels Rasmussen, a spokesman for the SAS, said.

The SAS aircraft was scheduled to take off at 7:35a.m. The accident occurred at 8:10a.m. local time. The airport was closed until at least midnight.

``SAS is doing everything possible to help passengers and to assist Italian authorities at this time,'' the airline said in a statement. Relatives of the passengers on board were notified and offered the opportunity to speak with psychologists.