Country
code

Madrid

Crash of a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 in Madrid: 154 killed

Date & Time: Aug 20, 2008 at 1424 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
EC-HFP
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Madrid - Las Palmas
MSN:
53148/2072
YOM:
1993
Flight number:
JKK5022
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
166
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
154
Captain / Total flying hours:
8476
Captain / Total hours on type:
5776.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
1276
Copilot / Total hours on type:
1054
Aircraft flight hours:
31963
Aircraft flight cycles:
28133
Circumstances:
An MD-82 passenger plane, registered EC-HFP, was destroyed when it crashed on takeoff at Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD), Spain. Of the aircraft’s occupants, 154 were killed, including all six crew members. Eighteen passengers were seriously injured. The MD-82 aircraft operated Spanair flight JK5022 from Madrid-Barajas (MAD) to Gran Canaria (LPA). The estimated departure time was 13:00. The aircraft was authorized by control for engine start-up at 13:06:15. It then taxied to runway 36L from parking stand T21, which it occupied on the apron of terminal T2 at Barajas. The flaps were extended 11°. Once at the runway threshold, the aircraft was cleared for takeoff at 13:24:57. The crew informed the control tower at 13:26:27 that they had a problem and that they had to exit the runway. At 13:33:12, they communicated that they were returning to the stand. The crew had detected an overheating Ram Air Temperature (RAT) probe. The aircraft returned to the apron, parking on remote stand R11 of the terminal T2 parking area. The crew stopped the engines and requested assistance from maintenance technicians to solve the problem. The mechanic confirmed the malfunction described in the ATLB, checked the RAT probe heating section of the Minimum Equipment List (MEL) and opened the electrical circuit breaker that connected the heating element. Once complete, it was proposed and accepted that the aircraft be dispatched. The aircraft was topped off with 1080 liters of kerosene and at 14:08:01 it was cleared for engine start-up and to taxi to runway 36L for takeoff. The crew continued with the tasks to prepare the airplane for the flight. The conversations on the cockpit voice recorder revealed certain expressions corresponding to the before engine start checklists, the normal start list, the after start checklist and the taxi checklist. During the taxi run, the aircraft was in contact with the south sector ground control first and then with the central sector. On the final taxi segment the crew concluded its checks with the takeoff imminent checklist. At 14:23:14, with the aircraft situated at the head of runway 36L, it was cleared for takeoff. Along with the clearance, the control tower informed the aircraft that the wind was from 210° at 5 knots. At 14:23:19, the crew released the brakes for takeoff. Engine power had been increased a few seconds earlier and at 14:23:28 its value was 1.4 EPR. Power continued to increase to a maximum value of 1.95 EPR during the aircraft’s ground run. The CVR recording shows the crew calling out "V1" at 14:24:06, at which time the DFDR recorded a value of 147 knots for calibrated airspeed (CAS), and "rotate" at 14:24:08, at a recorded CAS of 154 knots. The DFDR recorded the signal change from ground mode to air mode from the nose gear strut ground sensor. The stall warning stick shaker was activated at 14:24:14 and on three occasions the stall horn and synthetic voice sounded in the cockpit: "[horn] stall, [horn] stall, [horn] stall". Impact with the ground took place at 14:24:23. During the entire takeoff run until the end of the CVR recording, no noises were recorded involving the takeoff warning system (TOWS) advising of an inadequate takeoff configuration. During the entire period from engine start-up while at parking stand R11 to the end of the DFDR recording, the values for the two flap position sensors situated on the wings were 0°. The length of the takeoff run was approximately 1950 m. Once airborne, the aircraft rose to an altitude of 40 feet above the ground before it descended and impacted the ground. During its trajectory in the air, the aircraft took on a slight left roll attitude, followed by a fast 20° roll to the right, another slight roll to the left and another abrupt roll to the right of 32°. The maximum pitch angle recorded during this process was 18°. The aircraft’s tail cone was the first part to impact the ground, almost simultaneously with the right wing tip and the right engine cowlings. The marks from these impacts were found on the right side of the runway strip as seen from the direction of the takeoff, at a distance of 60 m, measured perpendicular to the runway centerline, and 3207.5 m away from the threshold, measured in the direction of the runway. The aircraft then traveled across the ground an additional 448 m until it reached the side of the runway strip, tracing out an almost linear path at a 16° angle with the runway. It lost contact with the ground after reaching an embankment/drop-off beyond the strip, with the marks resuming 150 m away, on the airport perimeter road, whose elevation is 5.50 m lower than the runway strip. The aircraft continued moving along this irregular terrain until it reached the bed of the Vega stream, by which point the main structure was already in an advanced state of disintegration. It is here that it caught on fire. The distance from the initial impact site on the ground to the farthest point where the wreckage was found was 1093 m.
Probable cause:
The crew lost control of the airplane as a consequence of entering a stall immediately after takeoff due to an improper airplane configuration involving the non-deployment of the slats/flaps following a series of mistakes and omissions, along with the absence of the improper takeoff configuration warning.
The crew did not identify the stall warnings and did not correct said situation after takeoff. They momentarily retarded the engine throttles, increased the pitch angle and did not correct the bank angle, leading to a deterioration of the stall condition.
The crew did not detect the configuration error because they did not properly use the checklists, which contain items to select and verify the position of the flaps/slats, when preparing the flight. Specifically:
- They did not carry out the action to select the flaps/slats with the associated control lever (in the "After Start" checklist);
- They did not cross check the position of the lever or the status of the flap and slat indicating lights when executing the" After Start" checklist;
- They omitted the check of the flaps and slats during the "Takeoff briefing" item on the "Taxi" checklist;
- The visual check done when executing the "Final items" on the "Takeoff imminent" checklist was not a real check of the position of the flaps and slats, as displayed on the instruments in the cockpit.
The CIAIAC has identified the following contributing factors:
- The absence of an improper takeoff configuration warning resulting from the failure of the TOWS to operate, which thus did not warn the crew that the airplane's takeoff configuration was not appropriate. The reason for the failure of the TOWS to function could not be reliably established.
- Improper crew resource management (CRM), which did not prevent the deviation from procedures in the presence of unscheduled interruptions to flight preparations.
Final Report:

Crash of a Beechcraft C90 King Air near Madrid-Getafe AFB: 2 killed

Date & Time: Feb 18, 2004 at 1130 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
E.22-03
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Madrid-Getafe - Madrid-Getafe
MSN:
LJ-624
YOM:
1974
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a local training flight at Madrid-Getafe AFB when the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances near Parla, about 8 km south of the airbase. The aircraft was destroyed and both pilots were killed.

Crash of a Cessna 401B in Madrid: 2 killed

Date & Time: Oct 31, 1999 at 1222 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
EC-DEQ
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Madrid - Alicante
MSN:
401-0115
YOM:
1971
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Captain / Total flying hours:
1629
Captain / Total hours on type:
100.00
Aircraft flight hours:
4612
Circumstances:
Just after takeoff from Madrid-Cuatro Vientos Airport, while in initial climb, the pilot informed ATC about engine problems and was cleared to return for an emergency landing. He made a turn and elected to establish on the ILS runway 28 when the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a near vertical attitude in an orchard located 1,400 metres short of runway, some three minutes after takeoff. The aircraft was totally destroyed and both occupants were killed. The departed Madrid on an aerial photography mission to Alicante.
Probable cause:
Loss of control following an engine failure during initial climb. The exact cause of the engine failure could not be determined with certainty. However, the assumption that it may be the consequence of presence of water in the tanks and/or fuel lines was not ruled out.
Final Report:

Crash of a Dassault Falcon 10 in Madrid

Date & Time: Sep 27, 1996 at 1946 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
F-GJMA
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Chailley - Madrid
MSN:
116
YOM:
1978
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
12300
Captain / Total hours on type:
350.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
4950
Copilot / Total hours on type:
1950
Aircraft flight hours:
6917
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful charter flight from Chailley, the aircraft landed on runway 33 at 1942LT with two passengers and two pilots on board. Just behind the Falcon 10 landed on same runway 33 a Boeing 727-223 registered EI-HCD and operated by Hunting Cargo Airlines. With four people on board, the B727 completed a cargo flight from Porto. Both aircraft vacated the runway at taxiway K-1 but the Falcon 10 used a taxiway parallel to the one which EI-HCD was using while heading for the apron. At the intersection of taxiways A-8 and M-8 both aircraft collided. While the B727 suffered minor damages, the Falcon 10 was damaged beyond repair and its four occupants escaped uninjured, among them the French actor Gérard Depardieu.
Probable cause:
As a result of the aircraft F-GJMA rolling onto the outer taxiway and lost separation with EI-HCD for not having followed the initial instructions from the control tower, and that the latter was moving too fast on Taxiway A, from a certain point the two aircraft started rolling almost in parallel. When the ground controller realized the situation it was too late to avoid the collision between the two aircraft in the incorporation of the outer taxiway and Taxiway A.
Final Report:

Crash of a Piper PA-31P-425 Pressurized Navajo in Madrid

Date & Time: Aug 9, 1995
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
EC-FSF
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
31-7730012
YOM:
1977
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Madrid-Barajas Airport, while climbing, the crew lost control of the aircraft that crashed near a warehouse located in Paracuellos del Jarama, about 3 km east of the airport. The aircraft was destroyed and both pilots were seriously injured.

Crash of a Swearingen SA226AC Metro II in Madrid

Date & Time: Oct 19, 1993 at 2308 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
EC-FHB
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Palma de Mallorca - Madrid
MSN:
TC-355
YOM:
1980
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful cargo flight from Palma de Mallorca, the crew started a night approach to Madrid-Barajas Airport. On final, the crew forgot to lower the gear and the aircraft landed on its belly and slid for few dozen metres before coming to rest. Both pilots escaped uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
The crew failed to follow the approach check-list and to lower the gear, causing the aircraft to land on its belly. The alarm coupled to the undercarriage sounded in the cockpit but neither the pilot nor the copilot heard it and no corrective action was made. The crew was apparently distracted by heavy traffic.

Crash of a Casa 212 Aviocar 100 at Torrejón AFB

Date & Time: Feb 6, 1992
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
T.12B-38
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Torrejón - Getafe
MSN:
74
YOM:
1976
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Torrejón AFB, while climbing, the crew declared an emergency following an in-flight fire. The crew was able to make an emergency landing. There were no casualties while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.