MADRID (AFP) — Spanair denied Saturday government claims that it considered transferring passengers to another plane after detecting a problem with the jet that crashed last week in Madrid, killing 154 people.
"At no moment did (Spanair) indicate that it was its intention to substitute the plane," it said in a statement, explaining that it had informed airport officials that another plane was available in case it was needed.
In an address to a parliamentary panel Friday, Transport Minister Magdalena Alvarez said Spanair "informed the airport of the possibility of replacing the aircraft but eventually decided ... to stick with the aircraft that crashed."
Only 18 people survived after Spanair flight JK5022 crashed moments after takeoff on August 20 from Madrid-Barajas airport on a flight to the Canary Islands, making it Spain's deadliest aviation accident in 25 years.
The MD-82 plane was delayed for about an hour because of what Spanair has said was a minor problem with an air temperature gauge on an air intake valve which was fixed before the plane took off.
"After an initial evaluation of the detected glitch and the estimated time for its repair, maintenance technicians decided that it would not be necessary to switch planes as it was a minor repair that would take no more than 15 minutes," the statement added.
Spain's airport management authority AENA said in a statement it had a recording of a Spanair chief of operations informing airport officials of a possible substitution of the aircraft.
Spanish newspapers have reported that the left engine was discovered in the wreckage with its reverse thrust, used to slow down the plane during landing, activated.
They said the pilot may have put the engine in reverse in an effort to abort the take-off because he noticed the plane lacked the power to get off the ground.
Several of the survivors have said the plane appeared to lack the necessary power on the runway.
Forensics experts finished identifying all 154 bodies of the victims of the accident overnight, a spokesman for the interior ministry said Saturday.
It took nine days to identify all of the bodies using fingerprint and DNA techniques because many of the victims were burned beyond recognition.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
