Ground Crew Faces Possible Manslaughter Charges

The judge investigating the Spanair Flight 5022 crash that killed 154 people in August has called three mechanics for questioning on suspicion of manslaughter, a Madrid court source said.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a Madrid Superior Justice Court spokesman said Thursday that the judge had called the Spanair maintenance chief at Madrid's Barajas airport, as well as two mechanics who had checked the plane before it took off.

On August 20, the Spanair MD-82 crashed tail-first, bounced three times as it skidded through a grassy area near the runway, then largely disintegrated and burned after coming to a halt at the edge of a stream.

As ANN reported, investigators are focusing on a problem with the plane's wing flaps and the failure of a cockpit alarm to sound, possibly contributing to the crash.

The Associated Press reports that based on data from the aircraft’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders, investigators have concluded that if the wing flaps were indeed faulty, the pilots were unaware because the cockpit alarm in question did not go off.

Investigators said they had not yet reached a final determination of why the plane went down.

Given what's known of the accident situation, however -- a heavily-laden jet that failed to climb out of ground effect, on what should have been a routine takeoff from a 10,000-foot runway -- investigators say if there wasn't a power problem, one of the few remaining possibilities is an issue with the configuration of the plane's flaps and wing slats.

They add it's possible the plane's flight crew was distracted during their preflight, and neglected to set takeoff flaps... or, they may have received a faulty indication in the cockpit.

Another possibility -- and one supported by reports the plane swerved off the runway -- is that the flaps deployed asymmetrically, resulting in each wing producing different levels of lift.

An earlier defect with one of the plane's outside temperature sensors that led the flight crew to abort their first takeoff attempt and return to the gate for repairs, doesn't appear to have been a direct factor in the subsequent crash.

FMI: www.spanair.com, www.ntsb.gov, www.boeing.com