Wing flaps responsible for Madrid crash

A preliminary investigation in to the Madrid plane crash earlier this year has revealed incorrectly positioned wing flaps were likely to be responsible.

Spanair flight 5022 crashed at Madrid airport on August 20th, after reaching an altitude of just 12 feet – killing 154 passengers and crew.

The report absolves the pilots of responsibility for the crash, stating they carried out the necessary routine checks before takeoff and followed the correct protocol once it became apparent the plane was in difficulty.

The Civilian Aviation Authority instead found a malfunctioning warning system in the cockpit failed to warn the wind tips had failed to deploy correctly.

Only 18 people survived the crash, which was Spain's worst air disaster for 25 years.

The investigators, who studied voice and data from onboard black box recorders, found no evidence of prior engine problems and concluded that the plane had caught fire only after hitting the ground.

A full report is expected later today, but officials may take up to another year to finish their investigation.

Chris O'Toole