Poor piloting, airline training that was deficient and the absence of safety zones beyond the runways at Midway Airport created an atmosphere ripe for disaster, federal officials said Tuesday in determining the cause of a Southwest Airlines accident on a snowy airstrip in Chicago two years ago.

The disturbing findings by the National Transportation Safety Board indicate a systemic collapse of safety. And the investigation provides little comfort for air passengers as winter approaches and commercial pilots call for more reliable information from their airlines, airports and the Federal Aviation Administration about how to operate on slick runways.