The SAS plane ploughed into a baggage hangar

The report by the Italian national air safety agency, ANSV, also blamed dense fog for the incident at Linate airport.

A Scandinavian SAS plane speeding down the runway in fog collided with a light aircraft, killing everyone on both planes and four baggage handlers.

Eleven airport staff have been charged with manslaughter and negligence.

A verdict is expected within weeks.

The victims included Italians, Danes, Swedes, Finns, Norwegians, a Romanian, a Briton, an American and a South African.

Radar removed

On 8 October 2001, the SAS plane, an MD-87, was taking off on a flight to Copenhagen with 110 people on board when a Cessna business jet crossed its path.

Deficiencies in airport equipment at the time, faulty signalling and procedures, and misunderstandings in radio communications when visibility was very poor combined to cause the accident ANSV report

The 182-page report said the pilot of the Cessna bore the main responsibility for Italy's worst civil aviation disaster.

Wednesday's report also highlighted grossly inadequate airport procedures, poor runway layout and communication between air traffic controllers and the pilots.

"The Cessna was instructed to follow a path with no adequate signs and markings to allow the path's identification," it said.

Investigators also found that controllers had used Italian as well as the standard English to address the Cessna crew, and the crew was not asked to read back the tower's instructions.

The airport's ground radar system was out of service, even though the airport is frequently hit by fog, the report said.