A series of mistakes and omissions by the flight crew and an inoperative takeoff warning system were among the factors that led to the loss of control of a Spanair McDonnell Douglas MD-82 during departure from Madrid-Barajas Airport the afternoon of Aug. 20, 2008, said the final report by Spain’s Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC).
The crew had rejected a previous takeoff because of an excessively high ram air temperature (RAT) indication and had taxied the aircraft back to the ramp to have the problem fixed. Taxiing out again after an hour’s delay, the pilots skipped over critical checklist items and neglected to extend the flaps and slats, an error that was not flagged by the takeoff warning system (TOWS). The crew did not identify — and actually aggravated — the stall that occurred shortly after the aircraft became airborne. Of the 172 people aboard, 154 were killed and 18 were seriously injured when the MD-82 struck the ground.
