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Madrid air crash investigation uncovers new details
The pilots of the Spanair plane that crashed in Madrid, killing 154 people, failed to extend wing flaps needed to give the aircraft enough lift for take-off, a source familiar with the investigation said.
Investigators believe both engines on the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 jet were working properly, according to the person, who spoke anonymously because Spanish authorities had not discussed the cause of the crash.
Spanish investigators have declined to comment on the investigation into the August 20th crash.
Boeing, which bought McDonnell Douglas in 1997, and engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney also declined to comment and referred inquiries to Spanish officials.
Flaps are moveable panels on the trailing edge of a plane’s wings and provide extra lift during take-off. The Spanair pilots should have received a warning — a loud horn in the cockpit — alerting them that the flaps were not extended before take-off.
The Wall Street Journal , citing people familiar with the investigation, reported on its website that investigators have focused on the theory that an electrical problem prevented the horn from sounding.
Investigations like the one in Spain often rely heavily on data recorded by so-called black boxes. A flight data recorder can reconstruct what was happening to the plane’s mechanical systems, while a voice recorder captures cockpit conversations and other sounds that sometimes point toward the cause of an accident.
The Journal said the data recorder confirmed that the flaps were not extended.
Spanair Flight JK5022 was bound for the Canary Islands when it crashed during take-off at the Madrid airport. The plane was making its second take-off attempt after what the airline called a minor glitch with an air temperature gauge near the cockpit.
The plane rose slightly off the runway before dropping and skidding off the runway, then breaking up and catching fire.
The source familiar with the investigation said the flight-data recorder indicated that the plane continued at full throttle for some time after the plane hit the runway.
Last week Spain’s interior ministry said all 154 bodies, many of them badly burned, were identified and returned to relatives. Eighteen passengers survived.
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