Plane's Nose Pitched Up Sharply Before Departing Runway

Airport security video released this week of last month's crash of a Spanair MD-82 in Madrid shows the airliner's nose pitched up sharply before the fully-loaded plane crashed off the side of the runway and exploded.

The footage -- taken from some distance away from the runway at Barajas International Airport -- shows a grainy image of the airliner as it sped down the runway. Though it's hard to say for certain, it does appear the airliner did become airborne briefly before the plane veered off the runway, skidding along a series of embankments before becoming engulfed in flames.

The video was released Thursday on the Web site of Spain's El Pais newpaper, which says it obtained the footage from the country's airport authority AENA.

The footage reveals no new information regarding the August 20 crash, that claimed 154 of the 172 people onboard. However, it does appear to support a preliminary report issued this week by investigators ( and leaked to the media), which states the plane's flaps were not deployed when the plane tried to take off.

FMI: Click Here To View The Video, www.spanair.com, www.aena.es