Probe into Spanair Crash Begins

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A Spanish judge has issued a gag order on reporting the results of the investigation before they're officially made public.

Spanish Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez told a radio station that Spanair's maintenance staff had given the plane clearance for takeoff after an inspection. He said the accident appeared to have been caused by "an error in take-off." Responding to allegations Spanair had possibly been negligent in the maintenance of its jets, however, Alvarez said the cause of the accident could only be determined by reviewing black-box information.

Eyewitnesses said the jet's left engine, manufactured by Pratt and Whitney, had caught fire during takeoff, but a retired pilot for Spanish national carrier Iberia told the newspaper El Mundo that pilots regularly train in taking off using a single engine. "A plane doesn't crash due to engire failure or fire on take-off," he told the newspaper.

The flight was scheduled to leave at 1 p.m. from Madrid's Barajas Airport with service to Las Palmas on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that the plane had been delayed by an hour over safety concerns, with the first planned takeoff aborted.

After an inspection, the plane tried to take off, but lost control and swerved off the end of the runway at 2:45 p.m. The jet had barely lifted before it crashed into some woodland and reportedly split apart and burst into flames. The airport was immediately closed for several hours.

Shortly afterward, the airport reopened for a limited number of takeoffs and landings. By early Thursday morning, air traffic had returned to normal.

Zapatero Promises Full Investigation

Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero broke off his holidays to visit with relatives grieving the loss of family members. He said his government would do everything it could to ensure a complete investigation.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also expressed her condolences to Zapatero, saying she was shocked by the scope of the disaster as well as the number of dead and wounded and expessed her sympathy to the families who had lost relatives.

Spainair, which is part of the Star Alliance network that also includes German flag carrier Lufthansa, has struggled financially recently, fighting rising fuel costs and increasing competition. Its owner, Scandinavia's SAS, has been trying to find a buyer for the moribund airline, which lost $81 million in the first half of the year. Spainair is currently in the process of laying off one-third of its staff and cutting numerous routes.

The last time Barajas Airport, Spain's largest, experienced a major accident was close to 25 years ago. On Nov. 27, 1983, a Colombia Linie Avianca jumbo jet crashed during its approach to the airport, killing 181.

Less than two weeks later, in thick fog, an Iberia jet collided on the runway with an Aviaco plane. Ninety-three people died in the accident.

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