Una comprobación recomendada por Boeing pudo evitar el accidente del MD-82 · ELPAÍS.com
Preliminary report of the accident
An audit recommended by Boeing was able to avoid the crash of the MD-82
A fault in the control systems of takeoff caused the tragedy
Lara Otero - Madrid - 15/09/2008
An audit recommended by the manufacturer could have prevented the crash of Spanair plane that crashed on August 20 at take off at Madrid-Barajas, in which 154 people died. The draft report of the Commission of Inquiry into Accidents and Incidents of Civil Aviation (CIAIAC) on the accident said that the MD-82 did not maintain the flaps deployed (flap giving lift to the plane on takeoff) and that the system that should warn the pilot did not adverted of the anomaly that would have prevented the fatal accident.
A similar failure occurred in the crash of another MD-82 in Detroit in 1987. According to one's own draft report of the Accident Investigation Commission, the manufacturer of the aircraft, McDonell-Douglas (now Boeing) "recommended" to companies that always check security system that alerts anomalies for each flight before takeoff . But Spanair only specifies in its testing protocols that must be done before the first flight of the day or when changing the pilots. The airline declined any comment until a formal report.
The commission investigating accidents and incidents of Civil Aviation (CIAIAC) recommended in its draft report on the crash of the MD-82 that the U.S. authorities as the European give binding instructions to all companies operating with such appliances for their pilots to check it before every flight that the control system is running normally.
The recommendations, contained in the last page of the preliminary report, are as follows:
It is recommended to the FAA in the United States and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of Spain to establish mandatory instructions to ensure that operators of MD-82 aircraft or other designs with similar warning systems configuration inappropriate for takeoff (TOWS) under their supervision, establish in its operational procedures to check the system before each flight.
It is recommended that the European Aviation Safety Agency to propose to the national civil aviation authority of the states of the European Union responsible for the supervision of air operators that have MD-82 aircraft or other designs with similar warning systems configuration inappropriate for takeoff (Tows) the issue of mandatory instructions for verifying operation of the system before each flight.