MADRID – A Spanish airliner which crashed on take-off killing 153 people aborted its first attempt to leave the runway an hour earlier due to technical problems.
The single-aisle MD-82 plane, manufactured by Boeing unit McDonnell Douglas, crashed while attempting to take off for the Canary Islands with 172 passengers and crew on board, according to a statement from Spanair, a unit of Scandinavian carrier SAS Group.
The UK’s Telegraph Online reported the Spanair jet’s left engine caught fire the moment it finally left the ground, causing it to crash back down on the runway and split in two. It then burst apart in a horrific fireball.
Nineteen survivors are in Madrid hospitals.
London newspapers disclosed that shortly before the crash, the plane had been forced to return to its gate at Madrid’s Barajas airport after its first attempt at take off failed. Passengers were warned they could have to disembark and change planes, it was claimed.
However, only an hour after arriving back at the gate, the plane attempted another take off which proved fatal. According to one report it was seen coming out of a maintenance shed just moments before its second attempt.
It was also disclosed that a sister plane of the one that crashed in Madrid had to make an emergency landing only five days ago after suffering suspected engine problems. That plane diverted to an airport in Gran Canaria after losing power in mid-air.
Rescue workers described a scene of carnage at the crash site.
“Only the tail was recognisable, there was wreckage scattered all over the place and dead bodies across a wide area. A lot of them were children,” Ervigio Corral, who headed the emergency services’ rescue effort, told reporters.
One emergency services worker said, “It’s the closest thing to Hell I’ve seen. There was nothing left that resembled a plane, it was in pieces. It’s a miracle anyone survived.”
The plane was 15 years old and had an annual maintenance check on January 24, Spanair Commercial Director Sergio Allard said at a press conference in the capital.
Spanair has 36 MD-80 series aircraft in its fleet, according to the Palma de Majorca-based company’s web
