SPAIN: Spanish royals commend emergency rescue services as probe begins into deadly plane crash

Record ID: 248866

  • Title: SPAIN: Spanish royals commend emergency rescue services as probe begins into deadly plane crash
  • Date: 21st August 2008
  • Summary: (W3) MADRID, SPAIN (AUGUST 21, 2008) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF MORGUE RELATIVE HUGGING EACH OTHER RELATIVE ON PHONE, TEARS IN EYES WOMAN ARRIVING, SUPPORTED BY EMERGENCY WORKERS EMERGENCY STAFF AT ENTRANCE OF MORGUE (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) MATS JANSSON, PRESIDENT OF SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES SYSTEMS (SAS) AND MARCUS HEDBLOM, PRESIDENT OF SPANAIR, ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENC
  • Embargoed: 5th September 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Spain
  • Country: Spain
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Royalty
  • Reuters ID: LVA8UOSRXXBEE69QUYWA06VB8FX
  • Story Text: Spain's royal couple King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia commended emergency staff at Barajas airport on Thursday (August 21) for their quick response to the Spanair plane crash that killed 153 people when it took off on a holiday flight.
    Away from the airport, grieving relatives and medical staff gathered at an exhibition centre which has been turned into a makeshift morgue to try and identify the victims of the crash. Forensic scientists from around the country were heading to Madrid to help identify the bodies, most of them badly burnt.
    The government said only 19 people of the 166 passengers and six crew aboard survived the MD-82 jet crash -- Spain's worst aviation disaster since 1983.
    The airline listed 157 passengers and 10 unnamed crew. A Spanair spokesman could not account for the discrepancy.
    Airline officials declined to comment on possible causes for Wednesday's tragedy (August 20) but said that Spanair Flight JK5022 had been delayed due to a problem with the heating system of the air intake before it attempted a second takeoff for its flight to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.
    On its second take-off attempt, the plane shot off the runway, broke into pieces and burst into flames.
    A minute silence to remember the victims was held throughout the country at midday (1000GMT) .
    At a news conference, Mats Jansson, the president of Scandinavian Airlines Systems (SAS) owner of Spanair, and Marcus Hedblom, Spanair Chief executive, offered their condolences.
    They vowed full cooperation with the government probe and said Spanair was launching its own investigation and was liaising with Boeing, the aircraft manufacturer and with Pratt & Whitney, the engine manufacturers.
    ''We have already activated our own internal investigation team which has been specially trained for this kind of accident," Hedblom said.
    An official investigation into the crash got under way on Thursday but was not expected to report for several months.
    The MD-82 is a medium-range single-aisle plane, popular with regional airlines. It is a member of the MD-80 family of planes made by U.S.
    manufacturer Boeing Co.
    American Airline's fleet of MD-80s came under scrutiny earlier this year when the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ordered the carrier to ground some 300 of the planes to inspect wiring in the right wheel well, which it said could be a fire risk if not properly covered and secured.
    A source close to the situation said the plane's left engine, made by Pratt & Whitney, had caught fire.
    Spanair has been struggling with high fuel prices and tough competition.
    Hours before the crash, pilots had threatened to strike in protest at proposed cuts in staff and routes.
    El Mundo newspaper reported that the co-pilot, who was among the dead, was on the list of those due to be laid off.
    Jose Maria Vasquez Alvarez, the President of Spain's Union of pilots (ESPLA) and a Spanair pilot himself, said that although there were some problems within Spanair, these were not the reasons behind the crash.
    ''Spanair is a company in expansion, innovative, that is breaking the moulds, creating new marketing models making everyone happy and satisfied.
    When on top of that, we have a staff reduction, it's not the best place to be.
    But to deduct that this would be the main cause of the accident would be going quite far. I don't think it has anything to do with it,'' Vasquez said.
    SAS has been trying to sell Spanair since last year and its Spanish unit lost $81 million in the first half of the year.
    Madrid's regional government declared three days' official mourning.
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