Airline Transport World report does not support engine fire speculation . . .
Spanair crash probe: Video of failed takeoff doesn't support engine fire theory
Monday August 25, 2008
Spanish investigators are backing away from blaming an engine fire for last week's Spanair MD-82 crash following emergence of a video of the failed takeoff that shows no signs of fire until after the aircraft, which elevated only a few meters off the ground, crashed back down on the runway.
Initial speculation following the accident that killed 153 passengers and crew centered on a possible engine fire (ATWOnline, Aug. 22), but investigators are finding little evidence to support that theory and believe there may have been multiple causes, El Pais reported. Civil Aviation Director General Manuel Batista told the newspaper that "more than one breakdown" likely caused the accident. "I'm not so sure the engine failed," he said. Even if it did, he explained, an engine failure would "not cause an accident" unless it combined with "other causes."
Despite initial eyewitness accounts that an explosion and fire were spotted as the aircraft ascended, an airport video of the attempted departure and crash reviewed by inspectors revealed that the fire-sparking explosion occurred "several seconds after" the MD-82 hit the runway, El Pais reported, citing sources close the investigation. The video also revealed that the aircraft fell to the right after its slight ascent.
Controversy continued to swirl around the decision of Spanair maintenance technicians to clear the aircraft for takeoff after it returned to the gate owing to a malfunctioning air intake probe. Jose Maria Delgado, president of the airline's mechanics union Assetma, said the technicians who worked on the plane disabled the probe and cleared the aircraft for takeoff. He said the maintenance manual for the MD-82 allows for it to fly for up to 10 days in that condition, adding that the device is more relevant in cold winter weather because its main purpose is to prevent ice from forming on engines. It is not important during the summer and its disablement is "not at all" relevant to the crash investigation, he told the paper.
But investigators reportedly are examining whether the cockpit warning light indicating that there was a problem with the air intake probe could have been indicating a more serious problem. "The pilot detected something" that caused him initially to abort a takeoff attempt, Bautista noted.
by Aaron Karp