Spanish Plane Plagued By Earlier Problems

Spanair Admits Landing Gear Issue During Takeoff Month Prior To Deadly Crash

(CBS/ AP)  The Spanair plane that crashed last week in Madrid, killing 154 people, had landing gear trouble a month ago on a flight from Spain to Denmark and was forced to abandon a first attempt at takeoff, the company acknowledged Wednesday.

On July 26, the MD-82 was to take 167 passengers and crew from Palma on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca to Copenhagen.

But as it taxied to the runway the pilot heard a "louder than usual noise" coming from the front landing gear and returned to the gate, a Spanair official said.

Mechanics worked on the problem for about half an hour, and after taking on more fuel to make up for the fuel burned during the repair work, the plane took off without incident, 44 minutes late, the Spanair official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because company rules bar her name from being published.

The incident was first reported Tuesday by a Danish newspaper, Ekstra-Bladet, and carried Wednesday by Spanish papers.

Spanair did not make the incident public until these newspapers asked about it because the company did not deem the case serious enough to mention, the official said. She said she did not know the exact problem with the landing gear.

This particular plane passed 36 inspections this year, she said.

Only 18 people survived the Aug. 20 Spanair takeoff crash on a flight from Madrid to the Canary Islands.

One of the survivors said Tuesday the aircraft lacked power during takeoff, corroborating other survivor accounts of what went wrong.

"I guess I did realize that when the plane was going to take off, perhaps it was not going so fast," Beatriz Reyes Ojeda, 41, told a jam-packed news conference shortly after being released from the hospital.

During takeoff, Reyes Ojeda said, the plane's right wing dipped abruptly. "And I said to myself, something is going on here."

"I grabbed the seat. I noticed a bump. My stomach was rising and falling and then I don't remember anything else," she said.

The plane struggled to get airborne, hit the ground tail-first, skidded and bounced three times over more than a kilometer before disintegrating and burning, the head of the Spanish commission overseeing the investigation, Francisco Soto, said Tuesday night.

Soto said it was too early to establish the cause of the crash but a preliminary report should be out in a month.

In this case, too, the plane abandoned a first takeoff attempt while taxiing. Spanair has said this was because of a minor problem with an air temperature gauge near the cockpit. It rules out any link between this malfunction and Spain's worst air disaster in 25 years.

[jpdworkin]

Another typical attempt by gop_forever to get noticed the poor child. Everyone just remember that he/she/ it is a troll (a person who likes to stir up people on the web) with nothing intelligent to say and apparently nothing better to do. So that what could be a valuable place for open discussion becomes a childish and stupid insult forum.

[docpeter-2009]

Its the passangers fault for getting on the plane. Where is the personal responsibility these days?

Posted by gop_forever at 09:38 AM : Aug 27, 2008
____________
Another nonsense comment from this psuedo-Christian

[jumkey]

I wonder why this is being reported at all.

Presumably there is an active investigation occurring and the reason for the crash will soon be known.

Why is CBS News speculating?

[lewiston14]

"In this case, too, the plane abandoned a first takeoff attempt while taxiing. Spanair has said this was because of a minor problem with an air temperature gauge near the cockpit. It rules out any link between this malfunction and Spain''s worst air disaster in 25 years."

What kind of backwards thinking is this. What they put that sensor there to add weight or look pretty.

[impeach__w]

The MD-82 has had known problems with it''s front landing gear. this plane was no exception.

[myopinion381]

Another typical attempt by gop_forever to get noticed the poor child. Everyone just remember that he/she/ it is a troll (a person who likes to stir up people on the web) with nothing intelligent to say and apparently nothing better to do. So that what could be a valuable place for open discussion becomes a childish and stupid insult forum. Posted by JPDworkin at 10:30 AM

Totally agree. It''s just a shame that he/she doesn''t quit taking up room on the discussion areas.

[jpdworkin]

to demslie2u:

I guess you are another troll - all aircraft accidents involving US build aircraft are investigated by our NTSP so that previously undetected defects and dangerous conditions can be found or corrected. Blame is not the game, rather the safety of all. Look up the Colorado Springs and Pennsylvania 737 crashes for a good example of how and why it can take years to detect and correct subtle technological problems.

[frigginnutz]

EVERY THING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. SO GOD WHY DID YOU KILL THESE POOR FOLKS?