Horrible. I just heard about this.

Here´s the link - http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/20/plane.crash.madrid/index.html

The full article


"MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- The toll from Wednesday's plane crash in Madrid is 153 dead and 19 injured, a government minister said, according to CNN+.

Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez released the information eight hours after a Spanair jet carrying 172 people went down in flames on takeoff from Madrid's Barajas Airport, the CNN sister station reported.

The American-made MD-82 was carrying 162 passengers, four non-working crew members and six working crew members, Spanair said. After contacting families, the airline published the names of those aboard on its Web site.

The crash, during take off, reportedly followed an explosion on board, sending up a plume of smoke visible from several kilometers away.

Some of the survivors have serious injuries and others non-life threatening injuries, Spanish Red Cross spokeswoman Olivia Acosa told CNN. Many of the injured were treated for burns, she said.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zappatero arrived at the airport Wednesday evening after cutting short a vacation.

The incident happened as Spanair Flight 5022 was taking off from the main runway, the official said. It was headed to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, a more than two-hour flight. Video Watch smoke rising from airport »

The Red Cross said it set up a field hospital at the airport to treat the injured and is offering psychological counseling to the victims' families.

Clouds of gray and black smoke billowed from the site, and even local media cameras could not get a close view of the accident scene. A helicopter passed overhead, dumping what appeared to be water on reported grass fires sparked by the blaze.

Ambulances were seen speeding in and out of the airport and dozens of emergency vehicles gathered at one entrance point. Video Watch as the wounded arrive at a hospital »

Spanish media reported at least 11 fire engines were dispatched to control the blaze.

A survivor told a reporter from Spain's ABC newspaper that she and other passengers heard a loud explosion as the plane was taking off.
"She said they could see the fire ... and then it was not even a minute or so they heard [something] blow up," the reporter, Carlota Fomina, told CNN. "They were about 200 meters in the air and then they were landing but not crashing. They were landing, like, little by little -- it was not like they [fell] down suddenly."

The accident happened as Spanair Flight 5022 -- also carrying passengers from Lufthansa Flight 2554 -- was taking off at about 2:45 p.m. (8:45 a.m. ET), an airport official said. According to Spanair's Web site, the flight was originally supposed to depart at 1 p.m.

Spanair, owned by Scandinavian airline SAS, is one of Spain's three major private carriers.

An SAS official said there were 166 passengers plus six crew on the plane, which was a code-share flight with Lufthansa Airline, indicating the jet may have been carrying German vacationers. Video Watch as relatives of survivors start arriving at the airport »

Barajas Airport closed after the crash but reopened more than two hours later, allowing a limited number of take-offs and landings, the airport official said.

It was the first fatal accident at the airport since December 1983, when 93 people were killed as two Spanish airliners collided while taxiing for takeoff.

The airport, eight miles (13 km) northeast of central Madrid, is Spain's busiest, handling more than 40 million passengers a year.

The United States National Transportation Safety Board is sending an investigation team to Madrid to aid the crash investigation because the aircraft is an American-made, NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said.

He said the group will depart "as soon as we can gather the team together."

Spanair has set up a local emergency number for family members and friends phoning from inside Spain."

yea i heard..awful news..

i was flying over spain just a week ago..imagine..

Any specific word regarding the cause of the explosion on the plane?

This is what I found

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4576796.ece

^ Madrid plane crash: Human error the most likely cause of accident

That sucks.

Thats horrible.

From what I heard, one of the motors caught fire during take-off. The pilot tried an emergency landing but to no avail apparantly.

The passengerslist is publiced but no nationalities have yet been given. Trully one of the worst aviationaccidents in EU history.

From what I heard, one of the motors caught fire during take-off. The pilot tried an emergency landing but to no avail apparantly.

The passengerslist is publiced but no nationalities have yet been given. Trully one of the worst aviationaccidents in EU history.

wow, that is horrible...