Spanair grounded all its flights and officially shut down on January 27, 2012. 20,000 were stranded by the sudden action. Spanair has filed for bankruptcy. 2,000 employees in the hub and 1,200 ground staff are now unemployed.

Spain may fine Spanair 9 million euros for not providing notice they were shutting down. On the company website there is an apologetic note saying all flights after Jan 28, 2012 are cancelled, and there are explanations how tickets may be refunded. A few alternative carriers are listed. The Spanair ticket desk has closed for the last time.

The post Spanair Calls it Quits first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Spanair McDonnell Douglas MD-83 from Ovideo to Barcelona
Where: Bilbao
When: Oct 13th 2011
Who: 96 passengers
Why: While en route, the plane developed problems with cabin pressure. The pilots diverted to Bilbao, where they made a safe landing.

Passengers were provided alternate flights.

The post MD-83 Diverts to Bilbao with Cabin Pressure problem first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Update
What: Spanair Flight JK5022, a 15-year-old MD-82 jet en route to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.
Where: Madrid airport Terminal Four
When: Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008 2:45pm
Who: Carrying 166 passengers and nine crew, at the time of this writing, the number of fatalities had mounted to 154 people.
Why: The jet swerved off the runway and caught fire during takeoff.

The final report of Spanair Flight JK5022 was released, it claims that the pilots failed to deploy the flaps for takeoff. The report blames the crash on “pilot error.” The automated voice warning to alert the crew did not sound.

Already more than one hour late, the flight experienced a technical issue with the plane (a sensor reporting excessive temperature in an air intake, and the temperature sensor was de-activated on the ground) that forced the first takeoff attempt to be aborted when there were failure signals taxiing away from the terminal. The aircraft was inspected and then tried to take-off for the second time, which ended in the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board said that “that the probable cause of the accident was the flightcrew’s failure to use the taxi checklist to ensure the flaps and slats were extended for takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the absence of electrical power to the airplane takeoff warning system which thus did not warn the flightcrew that the airplane was not configured properly for takeoff. The reason for the absence of electrical power could not be determined.”

A similar disaster occurred in the Northwest Flight 255 in Detroit in 1987 when 154 people also died in an MD-82 due to incorrect flap settings.

As a consequence, Spanair and McDonnell Douglas now require a TOWS* system check prior to every flight.

The Interim Report is available here.

Final report (Spanish).PDF

*The Take Off Warning System is part of CAWS. TOWS provides alert warnings on the following components involved in the configuration of the aircraft for takeoff: Flaps, Slats, Brakes, Auto brake, Auto spoilers, Spoilers and Stabilizer Trim.

The post Spanair JK5022: Final Report first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Three Spanair managers, the Spanair shift supervisor at Madrid airport, the maintenance manager and the quality manager, indicted for “negligent homicide” for Spanair Flight JK5022 will be appearing before a judge between June 20 and 22.

Malware in the mainframe software may have been involved in the crash.

Two mechanics were also indicted.

https://airflightdisaster.com/?page_id=3438
https://airflightdisaster.com/?p=626

The post Managers Indicted on Spanair Flight JK5022 first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Spanair Airbus A320-200 en route from Barcelona to Stockholm
Where: Belgium
When: May 20th 2011
Why: While over Belgium, radio communication was disrupted. (This occurred during the handover to Dutch ATC.)

A Dutch escort was sent (2 F-16s) to intercept.

The Spanair pilots re-established contact, and were escorted into German airspace. The plane landed on schedule in Stockholm.

The post Belgium: Spanair Airbus Lost Communication first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

March coverage included the news of Central District of California U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess dismissing the case against McDonnell Douglas (and component manufacturers) because he believed the litigation of the airline crash case should be moved to Spain. Spanair Flight JK 5022, the deadliest Spanish accident in the last 20 years, killed 154 people (18 survivors) when it crashed just after takeoff at the Barajas Airport in Madrid.

Here is the problem:
In Spain, Spainair filed for a delay which was granted, and now, criminal proceedings have pre-empted civil proceedings, which now makes the Madrid case stuck in Spanish suspended animation.

Families believe that this new development should allow their case to be reconsidered in US Courts.

Suspending civil proceedings until criminal proceedings are concluded could extend the length of time it takes the aviation case to complete. Aviation cases normally take a long time to settle anyway)

According to forum non conveniens, the court court can dismiss a case where another court or forum is better suited to hear the case. (Plaintiffs refer to another Spanair crash case which took eleven years to settle.)

The judge’s decision was based on his opinion that that private and public interest factors weigh in favor of shifting the litigation to Spain. But now that the case will be delayed indefinitely pending the judiciary of Spain’s criminal case, the interest of the families who were affected by the crash has in effect been swept aside.

How is that in anyone’s best interest? Why must the victims’ justice wait on Spain looking at two maintenance personnel have been charged with negligent homicide?

The judge cited “drawbacks associated with translating the cockpit voice recording” but, as Boeing was a technical adviser to the U.S. investigative team, and downloads, transcripts and the cockpit voice recorder are part of evidence already secured in the United States which cannot be secured in Spain.

Plaintiffs argue that family members were injured or died because of problems with the wing slats and flaps (component failure). The facts support the case being tried in US Courts.

Read More…

• Spanair Movie In Ethical Spotlight
• SPANAir-NTSB Report
• Spanair Cause Inconclusive
• Spanair Update
• Spanair Mass Televised in Spain
• Spanair Survives Emergency Landing
• Latest Spanair Madrid Fatality August 23
• Official Spanair Press Releases:
• Madrid Barajas-Airport Spanair MD82 early video
• Early Video Coverage of Spanair Crash
• Repost: Breaking News of Spanair Crash
• Spanair Death Toll Rises
• Spanair Crash follows Strike Threat. 145 Dead.

The post Madrid Crash Case Should Be Tried Here, Not Stuck in Spanish Amber first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The post Spanair Bailout first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The post Spanair Movie In Ethical Spotlight first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Spanair Airbus A321-200 en route from Las Palmas to Madrid
Where: Las Palmas
When: Aug 19 2010
Who: 194 people on board
Why: After take off, the flight was underway when the engine made a big bang, and an engine began sparking. The pilot shut down the engine and returned to Las Palmas where they made a safe landing. A replacement jet was provided.

George’s Point of View

It was good to hear the Spanair jet made it back to Las Palmas safely. I could not help but be reminded of Spanair flight JK 5022, which crashed with 172 aboard.

Although the CIAIAC, the Civil Aviation Accidents and Incidents Investigation Commission, published their opinion on 6 October 2010, the final conclusion did not discuss why the alarm did not go off for its abnormal takeoff configuration, why one thrust reverser was deployed and other abnormal and/or pre-existing abnormalities. A cause of that incident may have been Trojans in Spanair’s central computer. La computadora no operaba correctamente por unos programas ‘troyanos’.

For the 194 aboard the Las Palmas flight, they at least had a safe landing. Not so for the 172 victims of Spanair flight JK 5022.

The post Spanair Airbus Engine Shut down over Madrid first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Spanair Airbus A321-200 en route from Palma to Brest to Deuville.
Where: Brest
When: Apr 28th 2010
Who: 157 passengers
Why: On approach, the flight developed a technical problem with the landing gear. The problem delayed landing by half an hour, but eventually the plane did land safely, although it did have to be towed to the gate. An alternative jet was flown in eight hours later for the final leg of the flight.

The post Spanair Airbus Landing Gear Glitch first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Spanair McDonnell Douglas MD-87 en route from Madrid to Valencia
Where: Madrid
When: Apr 25 2010
Who: 43 passengers
Why: After takeoff, the flight developed an issue with the hydraulics. The crew decided to return to Madrid where they made a safe landing. A replacement jet was provided for the passengers.

The post Spanair Cautionary Landing in Madrid first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Spanair Airbus A321-200 en route from Madrid to Las Palmas
Where: Seville
When: Dec 23rd 2009
Who: 185 passengers
Why: While en route, the Airbus developed a problem with one of its engines. Passengers heard an explosion and smelled burning oil. The crew decided to shut down the malfunctioning engine, and shut it down.

The flight landed safely.

A replacement jet was flown in but not all passengers opted to board the replacement flight seven hours after they arrived.

The post Airbus Emergency Landing in Seville first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Madrid Superior Court Judge Juan Javier Perez is questioning three mechanics in relation to the Spanair plane crash. The purpose of the inquisition is to decide if there is a question of criminal accountability (manslaughter) for mistakes that lead to air disasters. To date, the only problem pinned down on the plane is with the planeâ€s wing flaps and the failure of a cockpit alarm.

The plane’s take-off warning system is supposed to be checked before every flight; it is supposed to warn pilots when planes properly configured for takeoff. Legally, the system is looking for someone to blame. However, some believe that getting caught up in blame clouds the larger issue of developing safety checks and balances.

Air Crash News and Information Urls

• Spanair Cause Inconclusive
• Spanair Update
• Spanair Mass Televised in Spain
• Spanair Survives Emergency Landing
• Latest Spanair Madrid Fatality August 23
• Official Spanair Press Releases:
• Madrid Barajas-Airport Spanair MD82 early video
• Early Video Coverage of Spanair Crash
• Repost: Breaking News of Spanair Crash
• Spanair Death Toll Rises
• Spanair Crash follows Strike Threat. 145 Dead.

The post Spanair Update first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

So far there have been no groundbreaking discoveries regarding the cause of the Aug. 20 Spanair crash beyond what was known originally: a problem with the plane’s wing flaps and the failure of a cockpit alarm, evidence of which is backed up by the plane’s black boxes. The plane’s history indicates that this was not the first time the wing slats were an issue. Two days before the accident, they were repaired.

Before the crash, on the plane’s first pass, a warning sounded from a “heat sensor in the engine inlet” which prompted the pilots to return to the gate and get it inspected. The system was “isolated, ” i.e. unplugged.

The technician discusses the disconnected probe.
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espan…/elpepiesp/20080823elpepinac_5/Tes

The post Spanair Cause Inconclusive first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Update
Based on findings derived from the MD-82’s flight and cockpit voice recorder, the wing flaps of the Spanair airliner (that crashed killing 154 people) were not set for take off, and pilots were unaware of it because the warning alarm did not go off.

The faulty valve that prevented the first attempt at takeoff was disconnected rather than repaired. Planes are allowed to fly for up to 10 days with the system involved disconnected.

Newlywed Brazilian Ronaldo Gomes Silva, 25, and his Spanish wife Yanina Celisdibowsky had been living in the UK for three years. a month ago in Sao Paolo, Brazil, they got married; They had just gotten on a plane to visit the Canary Islands, where Yanina was going to meet her in laws for the first time.

They got on the wrong plane. They were two of the victims of Spanair Flight JK5022.

Juliao Alves da Silva, the groom’s father said: “I have lost my son and a daughter-in-law. I am destroyed.”

I don’t even know these people and I am nearly inconsolable.

• What: Spanair Flight JK5022, a 15-year-old MD-82 jet bound bound for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.
• Where: Madrid airport Terminal Four
• When: Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008 2:45pm
• Who: Carrying 166 passengers and nine crew, at the time of this writing, the number of fatalities had mounted to 154 people.
• Why: The jet swerved off the runway and caught fire during takeoff. Spanish Comisión de Investigación de Accidentes e Incidentes de Aviación Civil (CIAIAC) is investigating

The post Spanair Update first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Good for you Spanair. Better safe than sorry. But maybe if it takes more than one try to get in flight, its time to take a hard look at the plane. D’ya think?

The post Spanair Survives Emergency Landing first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.