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6TH LD: Spanish plane crash kills 153 on board+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) PARIS, Aug. 21_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING WITH MORE INFO) A Spanish airliner crashed upon takeoff at Madrid airport on Wednesday, killing 153 out of the total of 172 passengers and crew members on board, media reports from Spain said quoting a Spanish Cabinet minister. Spanish Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez was quoted as saying that the remaining 19 were injured in the crash. It was the worst aircraft accident this year in the world in terms of the number of victims. The plane, Spanair Flight 5022, crashed and burst into flames shortly after it took off from Madrid Barajas International Airport at around 2:45 p.m. It was heading for Las Palmas on the Canary Islands off western Africa. A number of foreign nationals were among the passengers, the reports said. The Japanese Embassy in Madrid said it has confirmed that there were no Japanese nationals on the plane's passenger list. Twenty-two children were among the passengers, Spanair officials were quoted as saying. The twin-jet MD-82 swung to the right immediately after takeoff and crashed at the end of the runway, the reports said. The cause of the crash remains unknown. Some media reports said the plane's left engine had caught fire, hinting at possible engine trouble. Fine weather had prevailed over Madrid at the time of the crash. Alvarez, who supervises Spain's civil aviation administration, denied possible links with criminal acts, such as a terrorist attack. Spanish aviation officials have already recovered the plane's black box, which contains a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder, to launch an investigation into the cause of the crash, Alvarez was quoted as saying. The ill-fated McDonnell Douglas plane, which was put into service 15 years ago, was originally scheduled to take off at around 1 p.m. It moved toward the runway but returned to the terminal because of a technical glitch on the instrument panel. After the crash, the plane broke into several pieces which were scattered around the crash site. There have been no reports of any problems with the plane since it underwent full checks in January. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who cut short his summer vacation to inspect the crash site, promised to conduct a thorough investigation into the air disaster. Wednesday's crash was the worst in Spain after an Iberia Airlines plane crashed in the northern Basque region in 1985 leaving 148 people dead. At Madrid Barajas International Airport, two planes collided in poor visibility in December 1983, killing 93 people which included 34 Japanese nationals. Spanair is Spain's second-largest airline after Iberia Airlines. Copyright ? 2008 Kyodo News International, Inc. |