Pilot Keeps Crash Wreckage Out Of Relatives' Sights

It was a small gesture... the type that usually goes unreported. In the aftermath of last week's devastating crash of a Spanair MD-80 in Madrid, however, even the smallest gestures of kindness stand out.

The Associated Press reports the pilot of a Spanair airliner ferrying relatives of the victims of the August 20 takeoff crash requested a runway change Thursday... so they wouldn't have to take off from the same runway their loved ones lost their lives on eight days before.

Spain's airport authority said the pilot was originally cleared for takeoff on runway 36-Left, the most often-used runway at Barajas International Airport. It's also the same runway Spanair flight 5022 departed from... before the plane crashed off to the side and burst into flames, killing 154 of the 172 people onboard.

Though the largest pieces of the aircraft wreckage have been recovered, several smaller pieces remain. And that's an image the pilot figured his passengers simply didn't need to see, so he asked for an alternate runway -- which was quickly granted, officials said.

Thursday's flight to Las Palmas -- which now bears a different flight number, 5024 -- also carried the coffins of several of the crash victims, Spain's AENA reported.

FMI: www.spanair.com