Some of the proceedings of the judiciary investigation from the accident, have leaked to the press (as it was expected). It's 700 pages of documentation so far that the judge has put together.
-It shows that all 10 air traffic controller personnel declared not to have received further communication from the Spanair flight after all normal communications relevant to take-off maneuver (permission to take-off, weather, etc).
It's not stated, but it's implied in the article that they couldn't shed much light on the accident (i.e. everything seemed normal to them from the ground until they realised it had crashed). One traffic controller did take a look at the flight "briefly" and had the gut-feeling that it had some "difficulty to lift off".
-So far, the judge has interviewed 39 witnesses, including 6 of the survivors.
-So far, the crew's work schedules etc during the prior weeks seems normal and according to regulations. Same with the ground personnel.
-The accounts of witnesses all match that they felt "some weird movement" (i.e. roll), "some (small) vibration", and "little more" (i.e. everything else seemed normal). Some were interviewed for over 2 hours, mostly about what happened after they crashed and found themselves near (on) the creek.
-Most detailed account comes from the only crew survivor, the flight attendant that declared: "I felt like a vibration, like if the airplane didn't have enough power to go up". Her words match those of other witnesses.
-The security camera footage is brief (7 seconds). No indication of fire/smoke/explosions while the airplane was on the air. Wild estimation on the plane elevation obtained by the judge just from witnessing the tape: no more than 6 or 7 meters, although the angle of the recording is very wide (wide angle) and the airplane only shows in a corner from very far away (therefore, this is just preliminary "wild" speculation, but it tells the judge that it didn't go up too much). There is no audio in this airport recording. The "tape" is in the judge's hand.
-Judge has not had access yet to the air traffic control communications with the airplane, as they have not yet been "deciphered". He has requested a deciphered copy. He has requested the neccesary DVD/MP3 equipment to play them back from the company Seisa. The recording will include the crew's conversation with at least 3 controllers: ground, taxiing and take-off. From that point on, they'll be no more communications received. According to procedure, some 20 (or more) seconds later, ground control would've contacted the pilots to request the tune into Torrejon air control center, usually when the plane reached 300/400 feet (which the airplane, in any case, never reached). The pilot would've normally only contacted ground below that altitude if he had aborted T/O or was planning to go back (turn around) and land. It seems the pilot didn't have time. The plane went up and came back down in at most 7 seconds (other sources speak of no more than 6 seconds maximun since the wheels leave the ground until the plane touches the ground again). I guess we can assume, until more information is known, some 3-4 seconds going up and 3-4 seconds falling again.
-The judged also received the official statement from the technician that did the prior repairs.
-Police was ordered to guard the airplane remainings at the site for the duration of the investigation, allowing the technicial investigators to pick up or look at the pieces.
-Only both "black boxes" and both engines (fairly intact) have been transported from the crash site to other facilities. One clearly shows the reverser deployed.
Last edited by justme69; 27th Aug 2008 at 18:32.