The worst civil aviation disaster in Italian history might have been avoided if Milan's Linate airport had only had its ground radar system working, reports said Tuesday.

A Scandinavian Airlines System jet collided with a light plane in heavy fog during takeoff Monday and then crashed into a hanger at the airport, killing 118 people, local authorities said.

The old ground radar system at Linate was retired about two years ago, even though the airfield is often shrouded in early morning fog.

Although a new system had been delivered, it had never been operational because of various technical and administrative problems which critics said should have been swiftly resolved.

Ground radar allows the central control tower to keep track of movements of aircraft and vehicles on the ground.

"If the radar was working the disaster certainly would have been avoided. The law says it is not obligatory but logic says you need it," said Osvaldo Gammino, representative of a grouping of airline pilots that fly out of Linate.

A leading Milan newspaper ran an editorial accusing officials of "intolerable negligence."

"Someone will have to explain to the sons, brothers and friends of the poor dead how it was possible that an airport like Linate was for two years left to its own fate," it said.

"Worse, how is it possible that for years those who are responsible for the security of flights led everyone -- passengers, pilots, airlines -- to believe that that blasted radar was only 'temporarily out of order'?"

The company that runs the airport and the air traffic controllers group differ on which of them were responsible for installing the system.

"Any eventual penal responsibilities will be determined by the magistrature but if there is anyone responsible they will have to pay. I think that it is shameful that in the year 2001, everyone is passing the buck," Interior Minister Claudio Scajola said on national television Monday.

The accident happened in the early morning as the Scandinavian airliner was taxiing out of the terminal area and the pilot noticed a Cessna in his direct path.

The airliner, fully laden with fuel, then swerved off the runway, spun out of control, and hit two airport buildings before ramming into a baggage handling hangar and bursting into flames.

The four passengers aboard the smaller plane were killed. An Italian news agency said the Scandinavian Airlines System airliner was carrying 104 passengers, all of whom were killed, and six crew.

"The rescue teams went into action immediately but it was impossible to save anyone in the planes. They are all dead," Transport Minister Pietro Lunardi told reporters.