I hope that we haven't lost any members due to this terrible tragedy and that none of our members have lost family or friends. :frown1:
Spanair Jet Crashes in Madrid, Killing More Than 140
By Paul Tobin
Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- A Spanair SA MD-82 jetliner broke up and caught fire after skidding off the runway at Madrid's Barajas International airport, killing more than 140 people in Spain's worst aviation accident since 1985.
The single-aisle plane, manufactured by Boeing Co. 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 left engine caught fire and dragged the plane off the runway, where it crashed, newspaper El Mundo reported.
Television pictures showed a column of smoke billowing from the runway and a helicopter dropping water on the crash site. Dozens of fire engines and police vehicles attended the scene following the accident at 2:45 p.m. local time. The sky was clear and temperatures exceeded 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) during parts of the Madrid summer day.
``This is a horrible accident, a tragedy taking into the account the number of people we fear have died,'' Spanish Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez told reporters today in Madrid. She said 26 people were injured and couldn't confirm whether anybody else survived the crash.
15 Years Old
The flight bore the number JK5022 and carried 162 passengers, six working crew members and four other airline employees, Spanair said in a statement. The service was also operating as a code-share with Deutsche Lufthansa AG under the flight number LH255. The Cologne, Germany-based carrier said seven passengers checked in with Lufthansa tickets for the flight, including four from Germany.
``We were able to save more than 20 people scattered around outside the plane,'' Miguel Angel Perez, fire chief at Barajas airport, told radio station Cadena Ser. ``We found no survivors in the plane.''
The MD-82 ``broke apart'' after crashing on takeoff, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement, adding that it will assist in the accident probe. The plane was 15 years old and had an annual maintenance check on Jan. 24, Spanair Commercial Director Sergio Allard said at a press conference in the capital.
Standard & Poor's said in a note that Spanair, which SAS had been trying to sell, probably now has no future and that the parent company may itself face a class action, depending on the outcome of investigations.
`Next-of-Kin'
``SAS is doing everything possible to help passengers and next-of-kin and to assist Spanish authorities at this difficult time,'' the Stockholm-based company said in a statement.
SAS, which has suffered a series of incidents with its own fleet of Bombardier Inc. Q400 turboprops, fell 6.6 percent to 43.7 kronor. The stock has lost 47 percent this year.
Spanair has 36 MD-80 series aircraft in its fleet, according to the Palma de Majorca-based company's Web site. McDonnell Douglas was bought by Boeing in 1997, with MD-80 production ended in 2000, according to Airliners of the World.
``Boeing sends its deep condolences to the families and friends of those lost in the crash of Spanair flight 5022, and its wishes for the quick recovery of the injured,'' the Chicago- based company said in a statement. ``We stand ready to provide technical assistance.''
Carrying Out Probe
A probe will be carried out by the Spanish Comision de Investigacion de Accidentes e Incidentes de Aviacion Civil, or CIAIAC, Boeing said. The NTSB said it will send investigator John Lovell and four technical specialists to Madrid to assist.
The aircraft involved in today's incident was powered by engines manufactured by Hartford, Connecticut-based United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney division, Pratt spokesman Matthew Perra said by e-mail.
The airport was closed for takeoffs after the accident before flights resumed at about 4:30 p.m.
The last fatal civilian crash in Spain was in February 1985, when a Boeing 727 crashed on approach to Bilbao airport, according to the Aviation Safety Network. All 148 people on board the aircraft were killed, it said.
Spain's worst air disaster killed 583 when two Boeing 747s collided at Tenerife North airport in March 1977. A KLM Royal Dutch Airlines jumbo taking off in fog hit a Pan American World Airways plane taxiing for its own departure. The flights had been diverted from nearby Las Palmas -- where today's Spanair service was headed -- due to a bomb warning and were making their way to that destination when the crash occurred.
Spanair Jet Crashes in Madrid, Killing More Than 140
By Paul Tobin
Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- A Spanair SA MD-82 jetliner broke up and caught fire after skidding off the runway at Madrid's Barajas International airport, killing more than 140 people in Spain's worst aviation accident since 1985.
The single-aisle plane, manufactured by Boeing Co. 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 left engine caught fire and dragged the plane off the runway, where it crashed, newspaper El Mundo reported.
Television pictures showed a column of smoke billowing from the runway and a helicopter dropping water on the crash site. Dozens of fire engines and police vehicles attended the scene following the accident at 2:45 p.m. local time. The sky was clear and temperatures exceeded 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) during parts of the Madrid summer day.
``This is a horrible accident, a tragedy taking into the account the number of people we fear have died,'' Spanish Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez told reporters today in Madrid. She said 26 people were injured and couldn't confirm whether anybody else survived the crash.
15 Years Old
The flight bore the number JK5022 and carried 162 passengers, six working crew members and four other airline employees, Spanair said in a statement. The service was also operating as a code-share with Deutsche Lufthansa AG under the flight number LH255. The Cologne, Germany-based carrier said seven passengers checked in with Lufthansa tickets for the flight, including four from Germany.
``We were able to save more than 20 people scattered around outside the plane,'' Miguel Angel Perez, fire chief at Barajas airport, told radio station Cadena Ser. ``We found no survivors in the plane.''
The MD-82 ``broke apart'' after crashing on takeoff, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement, adding that it will assist in the accident probe. The plane was 15 years old and had an annual maintenance check on Jan. 24, Spanair Commercial Director Sergio Allard said at a press conference in the capital.
Standard & Poor's said in a note that Spanair, which SAS had been trying to sell, probably now has no future and that the parent company may itself face a class action, depending on the outcome of investigations.
`Next-of-Kin'
``SAS is doing everything possible to help passengers and next-of-kin and to assist Spanish authorities at this difficult time,'' the Stockholm-based company said in a statement.
SAS, which has suffered a series of incidents with its own fleet of Bombardier Inc. Q400 turboprops, fell 6.6 percent to 43.7 kronor. The stock has lost 47 percent this year.
Spanair has 36 MD-80 series aircraft in its fleet, according to the Palma de Majorca-based company's Web site. McDonnell Douglas was bought by Boeing in 1997, with MD-80 production ended in 2000, according to Airliners of the World.
``Boeing sends its deep condolences to the families and friends of those lost in the crash of Spanair flight 5022, and its wishes for the quick recovery of the injured,'' the Chicago- based company said in a statement. ``We stand ready to provide technical assistance.''
Carrying Out Probe
A probe will be carried out by the Spanish Comision de Investigacion de Accidentes e Incidentes de Aviacion Civil, or CIAIAC, Boeing said. The NTSB said it will send investigator John Lovell and four technical specialists to Madrid to assist.
The aircraft involved in today's incident was powered by engines manufactured by Hartford, Connecticut-based United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney division, Pratt spokesman Matthew Perra said by e-mail.
The airport was closed for takeoffs after the accident before flights resumed at about 4:30 p.m.
The last fatal civilian crash in Spain was in February 1985, when a Boeing 727 crashed on approach to Bilbao airport, according to the Aviation Safety Network. All 148 people on board the aircraft were killed, it said.
Spain's worst air disaster killed 583 when two Boeing 747s collided at Tenerife North airport in March 1977. A KLM Royal Dutch Airlines jumbo taking off in fog hit a Pan American World Airways plane taxiing for its own departure. The flights had been diverted from nearby Las Palmas -- where today's Spanair service was headed -- due to a bomb warning and were making their way to that destination when the crash occurred.
