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| Wing flaps blamed in Spain crash | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Accident investigators in Spain have published a preliminary report into a plane crash that claimed 154 lives at Madrid airport in August. | Accident investigators in Spain have published a preliminary report into a plane crash that claimed 154 lives at Madrid airport in August. |
| The MD-82 plane reached an altitude of just 12m (40 ft) on take-off, before crash-landing and bursting into flames as it careered off the runway. | |
| Only 18 of those on board Spanair flight 5022 survived. | Only 18 of those on board Spanair flight 5022 survived. |
| The plane's wing flaps were wrongly positioned, but a warning system failed to alert the pilots, investigators say. | The plane's wing flaps were wrongly positioned, but a warning system failed to alert the pilots, investigators say. |
| Their preliminary report concluded that the wing flaps - which are designed to provide lift on take-off - appear not to have been deployed. | Their preliminary report concluded that the wing flaps - which are designed to provide lift on take-off - appear not to have been deployed. |
| Judge to decide | Judge to decide |
| It is unclear why, but the error was compounded by the failure of the cockpit alert system, which should have sounded a warning to the pilots. Only eighteen of those on board Spanair flight 5022 survived. | It is unclear why, but the error was compounded by the failure of the cockpit alert system, which should have sounded a warning to the pilots. Only eighteen of those on board Spanair flight 5022 survived. |
| The investigators, who studied voice and flight data recorders, found no evidence of prior engine problems, and concluded that the plane caught fire only after hitting the ground. | The investigators, who studied voice and flight data recorders, found no evidence of prior engine problems, and concluded that the plane caught fire only after hitting the ground. |
| The report does not apportion blame - and it stresses that the two Spanair pilots did carry out routine checks before take-off. | The report does not apportion blame - and it stresses that the two Spanair pilots did carry out routine checks before take-off. |
| A judge will now decide whether anyone can be held criminally responsible for western Europe's worst air disaster in two decades. | A judge will now decide whether anyone can be held criminally responsible for western Europe's worst air disaster in two decades. |