Wednesday
20 Aug 2008
Crash at Madrid Airport: Report of Explosion Onboard
By Annie Jacobsen in category Behind the Scenes
UPDATE: 8.22.08 With 153 people confirmed dead, there is still no word on why the plane crashed. CNN reports that initials claims of an engine fire before take-off are not accurate.
Initially there were indications an engine might have caught fire as the plane was taking off, but the source [close to the investigation] said airport video shows the plane lifting off, veering sharply right, and then dragging or skidding down the right side of the runway. There was a cloud of dust, the source said, followed by a fireball.
UPDATE: 9:58 a.m. (PST) Spanish officials tell CNN "most of the 172 people on board are feared dead." That 26 people hospitalized are the only survivors. 
UPDATE: 9:37 a.m. (PST) Spanish officials now say 90 people are dead.
An airplane heading for the Canary Islands crashed this morning at Madrid's Barajas Airport. The office of the prime minister says 45 passengers and crew members from Spanair Flight 5022 are dead. Spanair is reportedly a subsidiary of Scandinavian Airlines SAS.
Initial news reports blamed engine failure. Others stated the plane "swerved off the runway."
CNN is the first to report that a surviving passenger described an explosion before the plane crashed.
"Spanish journalist Carlota Fomina told CNN said she had spoken to one of the passengers who had been on board the plane at the time of the crash who described an explosion and fire at the back of the plane."
Another journalist, Manuel Moleno — who was near the area when the crash happened — told BBC News that the airplane had "crashed into pieces." Moleno also reported seeing at least 20 survivors walking away from the wreckage of the plane.
Analysis by The Times of London from earlier today:
It is not yet clear what went so catastrophically wrong on board Spanair flight JK5022. But experts say that - even if an engine fails during takeoff - modern aircraft are designed to come to rest safely, meaning that a catastrophic engine fire is among the most likely causes of the accident.
David Learmount, safety editor of Flight International Magazine says:
"[Commercial aircraft] can continue takeoff with half the power out the window and return to land. So the question is, what else did they have to contend with?”