Madrid crash jet had faulty gauge
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Mourning: Relatives of victims of the airport crash (Reuters: Susana Vera)
Spanish airline Spanair has confirmed that a faulty gauge delayed the departure of the jet which crashed on take-off in Madrid, killing at least 153 people.
Spanair says the gauge, indicating that overheated air was entering the aircraft, forced pilots to abandon a first takeoff about an hour before the plane crashed into flames.
"They supposedly fixed the problem which the pilot later said was with the air conditioning and then we took off," survivor Ligia Palomino told Spanish radio.
"The plane was wobbling from one side to another. Then I began to suspect we would crash. I don't know what happened next. I was in a sort of river and saw people, smoke, explosions - which I think woke me up."
Rescue workers said the only passengers to survive Spain's worst aviation disaster since 1983 were those who fell into a stream and avoided severe burning.
Spain's Prime Minister has declared three days of national mourning.
As air safety investigators examine the plane's black boxes, questions are mounting about the airline's operations.
In a research note to its clients, Standard and Poor's says that Spanair probably has no future, and depending on the outcome of investigations into the air crash, the parent company, Scandinavian SAS, may face legal action
SAS shares fell four per cent in Stockholm trading and are down 49 per cent so far this year.
