As relatives grieve, investigators ask what caused the Spanair crash
Updated on 21 August 2008
Relatives and medical staff are trying to identify the victims - and the cause - of Spain's worst aviation disaster for 25 years.
Officials will be looking into why the Spanair MD-82 jet aborted an initial take-off attempt at Madrid's Barajas airport, shortly before the accident.
They will examine claims that the plane's left engine was on fire as it made its second attempt at take-off, before swerving right into grassland.
The Spanish government has said that 153 passengers died and that there are only 19 survivors.
Grieving relatives arrived to identify the bodies this morning at a makeshift morgue which has been set up in a convention centre close to Barajas International airport in Madrid.
According to Spanair, the plane was carrying 172 people, including 6 crew members. 20 children and 2 babies were among those listed as being onboard the flight.
Spain is now in mourning over its worst airline disaster in nearly 25 years. Flags were flying at half-staff in Madrid, and three days of mourning have been declared.
Investigation
The Spanair Flight JK5022 was originally due to take off at 1pm, bound for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. But after moving away from the terminal and approaching the runway it returned because of a mechanical problem.
On its second take-off attempt, it shot off the runway at terminal 4 and burst into flames. Survivors were flung from the plane by the force of the impact and landed in a stream, saving them from more severe burns, a rescue official said.
An investigation is underway into the circumstances leading to the crash and Spain's development minister Magdalena Alvarez said the cause of the accident seemed to be "an error in takeoff". She added that the Spanair MD-82 jet was 15-years-old and passed its annual inspection last year.
"The causes will have to be provided not only by the company but also by the black boxes, which compile all the flight data," she said on Wednesday night.
However, Spanish media and a source close to the situation said the plane's left engine had caught fire.
A passenger list published by Spanair, which is owned by Scandinavian Airlines Systems (SAS), showed mostly Spanish names but officials said there were also passengers from Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and Chile. The UK Foreign Office said it was not aware of any British nationals involved in the crash.
