Our condolences to all the Families who have lost loved ones in this tradegy.
Air safety experts say preliminary reports suggest the left-side engine on Spanair Flight 5022 caught fire or exploded as the airliner approached maximum take-off speed, causing the plane to skid off the runway in a crash that killed 153 people.
Witnesses say the Pratt & Whitney engine caught fire as the plane made its second attempt to take off from Barajas airport, causing the MD 82 to veer off course. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which is joining the investigation, said the plane "broke apart" on impact after skidding off the runway in a plume of thick smoke.
Arthur Alan Wolk, a lawyer who specializes in aviation safety, told us he suspects engine failure caused the crash and the plane's speed contributed to the death toll. "Often times passengers end up walking off the plane after an engine failure," Wolk says.
According to a report from Sky News, witnesses saw the plane's left engine catch fire just as the aircraft reached maximum runway speed and started to lift. The plane apparently broke in two on impact. "It's 150 feet long," Wolk says of the MD-82. "And when it hit the runway, it came down hard."
The plane, bound for the Canary Islands, carried 162 passengers, six crew members and four other airline employees. The airline hasn't released the death toll, but Spain's Development Minister, Magdalena Alvarez, said 19 people survived the mid-afternoon crash.
The Spanair plane was 15 years old, according to Bloomberg. The Associated Press reports that the pilot reported a problem with a gauge that measures the air temperature outside the plane, but it was repaired -- delaying the flight -- and the plane later took off. Alvarez said the cause of the accident "seemed to be an error during take-off," but Spanish media quoted unnamed sources saying the engine caught fire.
The aircraft was fitted with a Pratt & Whitney JT8D-217c engines, and Wolk says it isn't the first time that model's had problems. A Delta Airlines MD-88 had an engine fail during takeoff in Pensacola in 1996, killing to passengers when pieces of the engine penetrated the cabin.
McConnell Douglas built more than 1,100 MD-80s between 1979 and 1999. Generally considered a safe and reliable workhorse, the planes have been plagued by a recent spate of problems including issues with the plane's wiring and horizontal stabilizer, and more than 400 people have died in MD-80 crashes during the past five years. Questions about the MD-80's hydraulic system wiring prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to ground hundreds of the planes earlier this year for mandatory inspections.
The plane that crashed Wednesday in Madrid was owned by Spanair, a financially troubled subsidiary of Scandinavian Air System. Aviation Week reported earlier this month that Spanair plans to reduce capacity and cut over 1,000 employees, a move that had the airline's pilots considering a strike. Standard & Poors said Spanair, which SAS had been trying to sell, probably now has "no future," according to Bloomberg.
Post updated 4:10 p.m. PDT.
Associated Press photo.
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