Families of 153 dead ask why plane was cleared to fly

Angry relatives of Madrid crash victims asked yesterday why the aircraft was allowed to fly two hours after it aborted a take-off because of a technical fault.

A total of 153 people died on Wednesday when the Spanair aircraft bound for the Canary Islands failed to take off, crashing shortly beyond the runway and bursting into flames. Nineteen people were injured.

Spanair officials confirmed that the pilot aborted his first take-off attempt after noticing that an air intake under the cockpit window was overheating. Javier Mendoza, the airline’s deputy managing director, said that the problem was treated and corrected by maintenance personnel, who switched off power to the intake – standard procedure for the McDonnell Douglas MD82 aircraft