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Tuesday's papers: Searching for answers in plane wreckage, Nokia-Microsoft deal progresses and Supercellers invest

Almost without exception Tuesday’s dailies probe Sunday’s tragic plane crash in Jämijärvi, western Finland. Otherwise Finland’s major dailies cast an eye on the progress of the Nokia-Microsoft phone division sell-off, and a plan by nouveau millionaire gamers Supercell to set up an investment fund for growth companies.

Tabloid-kokoisen Helsingin Sanomien pääkirjoitussivu aamukahvipöydässä Helsingissä 8. tammikuuta 2013.
Tabloid-kokoisen Helsingin Sanomien pääkirjoitussivu aamukahvipöydässä Helsingissä 8. tammikuuta 2013. Image: Vesa Moilanen / Lehtikuva

Finland’s largest circulation daily Helsingin Sanomat leads its Tuesday news coverage with an update on the possible cause of a plane crash Sunday in which eight people perished. The paper quotes officials from the Safety Investigation Authority (Otkes), which is responsible for examining all major accidents.

According to HS, the three skydivers who survived the crash spoke of steering problems which caused the craft into a sudden nose dive. Otkes officials said that at this point the pilot lost control of the plane.

Based on the survivor accounts Otkes speculated that the steering problems would have been responsible for the up and down movement of the altitude regulator. However the investigators are yet to arrive at a final verdict on the cause of the accident.

“We cannot not yet confirm whether or not it was due to a technical malfunction, a breakage or due to the pilot’s actions,” said Otkes communications chief Teuvo Arolainen.

Broken wing also a suspect

The widely-read Turku-based daily Turun Sanomat also focused on the investigation into the tragedy, reporting however that accident investigators were also considering the possibility of a broken wing that did not detach from the plane. This lead came from video material recorded by onlookers.

The paper writes that the weekend’s accident as well as other aviation incidents last year have prompted the Ministry of Transport to launch a risk assessment of recreational aviation. Investigators will continue their probe of the Jämijärvi wreckage Tuesday.

Deep mourning in Tampere

The Tampere-based paper Aamulehti offers particularly extensive reporting on the crash, and includes coverage of memorial service for the deceased and their families at the Tampere cathedral Monday evening.  Five of the crash victims were young men from the Tampere region.

Local Bishop Matti Repo told the paper that so far information about the crash has left many difficult questions unanswered.

Tabloids focus on families

The tabloid dailies also cover Sunday’s crash, however turning their attention to the families and friends left grieving for the lost skydivers. Ilta Sanomat writes that the youngest victim was a 23 year-old woman, the oldest a 43 year-old man. Other fatalities included a 25 year-old woman and five men aged 26 – 35, all from the Tampere region.

Police have so far not released the names of the victims but have said that all three of the survivors were men, one of them the pilot.

Nokia-Microsoft deal to close Friday

In other news, HS reports a new closing date for the landmark sale of Nokia’s mobile phone division to software behemoth Microsoft, this time naming Friday as the red letter day. The multi-billion euro deal has been held up by a number of regulatory and anti-monopoly hurdles, but now looks set for consummation at the end of the week, the daily writes.

Supercell investment to power growth businesses

The most widely-read daily also highlights nouveau millionaires from the gaming success story Supercell, who plan to support the sector by setting up an investment company to fund new growth enterprises in Finland.

The gamers will seed the new company with 15 million euros in capital, which will be available for investment in promising new companies. According to the Finnish Business Angel Network Fiban, growth businesses typically seek funding from business angels, who last year invested on average just 49,000 euros in start-ups. The Supercell-powered investment company will be able to fork out ten times that amount.

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