Engine theory
The Spanair flight, bound for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands,
took off on Wednesday at lunchtime with 172 people on board, among
them 10 crew.
Initial reports suggested a fire had broken out in one of the
MD82 plane's engines during or shortly after take-off, and the
plane ended up in a field.
Spanish Transport Minister Magdalena Alvarez said the plane had
earlier begun taxiing to the runway, before turning back because of
a technical problem, which had caused an hour's delay in
take-off.
Spanish media said the pilots had reported a fault with a
temperature gauge, but it was thought to have been fixed before
take-off.
Speaking on Thursday, Ms Alvarez said a thorough investigation
would be carried out, with a full examination of the flight
recorders and available pictures, but that it was very early to
draw conclusions about the crash.
A special independent commission has been established to
investigate the cause of the crash, Spanish media reported.
The plane which crashed was a 15-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD82
plane previously owned and operated by Korean Air.
Reports said it was serviced regularly and had been pronounced
fit to fly.
The MD82 is known as a versatile and reliable aircraft, with
some 432 planes currently in service around the world, Spain's EFE
news agency said.
source:bbc
