News, September 2008

Air Accident at Madrid Airport

10 minutes after the crash (Victor José Isla)

On 20th August, a Spanair MD 82 plane taking off for Las Palmas, in the Canaries crashed at the end of the runway. 154 died, several after being taken to hospital with severe burns and other injuries, with several others fighting for life in hospital. It appears that about 28 got off the plane alive. Of these, one was thrown away from the disaster and suffered broken ribs, etc.. There were 164 passengers and 10 crew (4 off-duty). It is known that one passenger was evangelical. Rubén Santana Mateo was a member of Tres Cantos Baptist church in Madrid, while another was uncle of a church member. The investigation to find out what happened may take many months.

[Image 86???]The accident of flight JKK 5022 (codeshare LH 2554) took place at 14.45 The airport was closed two hours. Within minutes the first fire engine was on the site and within 20 the airport was flooded with emergency vehicles, responding to a protocol developed after the 11th March 2004 Madrid train bombings. Yet, even so, it was too late -if ever there had been a moment- for the majority of the passengers. Rescue workers have said the bush fire in the area of the wreckage severely hindered their early work to evacuate the wounded. On lady is reported as having asked for her daughter to be taken first. The mother subsequently died in the flames, but the daughter was saved.

Remains of the plane

Flights were significantly delayed, but the airport was fully open on the morning of the 21st. A flight from Las Palmas brought members of the families of passengers who they had expected to collect from the airport. It is believed at least 40 of the passengers were from the Canaries and returning from holiday and a Catholic missionary returning from over 2 years non-stop serving the needy in Cameroon. 11 seriously burnt people were admitted by the La Paz hospital, others going to hospitals in Madrid and Arganda. The bodies were taken initially to one of the halls of the IFEMA exhibition centre for identification and subsequently moved to the mourning halls at the Almudena cemetery. Some have been buried or cremated.

Mourning: 3 days of mourning were declared. The archbishop of Madrid will preside a state funeral for the dead on 11th September, to be attended by national leaders as well as the families. Evangelical representative groups and others have complained about the Catholic nature of the proposed event (see below).

The investigation: The captain had to return the plane to the terminal to deal with a problem of overheated air at the engine intake before the eventual take-off attempt. It was at first thought that this might have been related to the subsequent accident. First reports were of an engine catching fire, with numerous theories about how the entire plane fell and split apart. The pilots' arms were all broken, suggesting they fought to control the fall. Both died. However, first reports from the investigation have questioned the early theories and ask people to be patient concerning the reasons for the crash.

The plane in archive photo

Spanair is Spain's second airline. It is owned by SAS and until earlier this year up for sale, although finally no buyer could be found. This fact has caused the already ageing fleet of aircraft to get even longer in the tooth, compared to the younger fleets of Iberia and Air Europa. As a result of failure to find a buyer, the airline was in the throes of laying off a quarter of its staff and closing its headquarters and base in Palma, Mallorca. Nevertheless, the airline has never had a fatal accident of this kind and the MD 82 involved was 15 years old but had passed all its inspections.

Accidents in Spain: The last year for major accidents at Barajas airport was 25 years ago, in 1983, when an Avianca incoming flight crashed some 15km (10 miles) from the runway at Mejorada del Campo, killing some 170. 9 days later 93 died when two planes collided in fog on the ground. Spain's worst air disaster was in 1977, when two 747s collided at Los Rodeos airport, Tenerife, leaving 583 dead. This gave rise to the new airport in the south of the island. In May, 2003, 62 peacekeepers and 12 crew died when a flight bringing them home from Afghanistan crashed in Turkey. More disasters: from Reuters.

Evangelicals: We know that one evangelical believer died in the crash. Rubén Santana Mateo was a member of Tres Cantos Baptist church in Madrid. He was originally from the Canaries and was going back on business and to visit his family. He had changed the booking from a later flight at the last moment to take advantage of more time on the island. Pray for them and all the families of the victims. Ruben's widow, Mari Carmen, was able to speak of her strengthening faith to president Zapatero and the vice-president of the Canaries when they greeted her while waiting to be called to identify Ruben's body. In addition, the uncle of a member of the same church was killed. The Evangelical Federation FEREDE has published a report (in Spanish) including reference to Rubén's life and witness, as well as referring to the arrangements for funerals in Madrid and the Canary Islands. FEREDE and the Spanish Evangelical Alliance have called for a non-partial state funeral (i.e. not a Roman Catholic one) which could include those of other faiths and none, but the government has repeated the mistake it made with the 3/11 bombings and called for a funeral in the Catholic cathedral, with no reference to other faiths.

A photo report can be seen at El Mundo

first BBC report.
BBC asks what happened.
NY Times report