MADRID: Spain’s civil aviation chief said yesterday a combination of factors probably caused this week’s fiery plane crash in Madrid, which killed 153 people.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Manuel Bautista said a failure of one of the Spanair MD-82’s two engines by itself — if such a failure did in fact occur — should not normally be enough to bring down a modern aircraft because they are designed to fly on just one if necessary.
“A set of causes probably came together to cause the accident,” Bautista said.
With an investigation under way with help from the United States and the airplane’s manufacturer, he said it was too early to say if human error was involved.
Bautista said he has seen — but would not comment on — video footage from Madrid airport that shows the doomed airliner trying to take off. The newspapers El Pais and ABC said it shows no engine explosion, contrary to some witness accounts.
The plane abandoned one takeoff attempt because of a mechanical problem with what the airline called an air intake temperature gauge near the cockpit. The gauge was essentially turned off and the plane cleared for takeoff.
It crashed on takeoff.
Aviation experts have said the gauge problem, usually a relatively minor glitch, was unlikely to have caused the crash, but Bautista would not rule out the possibility that it contributed to the accident.
“A problem with a temperature sensor may not matter at all or it can be very important, depending on what other circumstances accompany it,” Bautista told the AP. “We will have to see what other issues were present.”
The investigation into what brought down the plane is likely to take months, though information could come earlier from the two recovered black boxes. Spanair says one of them — the one that records technical data on the flight — is damaged.
Three of the survivors remained in critical condition yesterday. One of those worst injured, a 40-year-old woman who suffered burns over 45 percent of her body, has experienced a slight improvement, the Madrid regional health department said.
Five of the survivors were sitting toward the front of the plane, El Pais said.
One of them was 30-year-old Spanish telecoms engineer Rafael Vidal, who was bumped off an earlier flight because it filled up and ended up taking the doomed one.
“Flying first class is what saved him,” said his mother, Pilar Rodriguez, according to the daily.
Relatives of those killed in the crash kept up the heart-wrenching ordeal of identifying bodies. Many bodies were burned beyond recognition and forensic teams are taking DNA samples from relatives.
Around 50 sets of remains have been identified. An official funeral presided over by Madrid Archbishop Antonio Maria Rouco has been scheduled for Sept. 1, the city government said.
