Spanair Flight 5022

Spanair Flight 5022

EC-HFP nicknamed "Sunbreeze", in Star Alliance livery, the aircraft involved in the incident at Zürich Airport a month before the crash.
Accident summary
Date	20 August 2008
Summary	Crashed during take-off due to improper flaps and slats selection
Site	Barajas Airport, Madrid, Spain 40°31′48″N 003°34′13″W / 40.53000°N 3.57028°W / 40.53000; -3.57028Coordinates: 40°31′48″N 003°34′13″W / 40.53000°N 3.57028°W / 40.53000; -3.57028
Passengers	166
Crew	6
Fatalities	154
Injuries (non-fatal)	18
Survivors	18
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas MD-82
Operator	Spanair
Flight origin	Barcelona El-Prat Airport
Stopover	Madrid-Barajas Airport
Destination	Gran Canaria Airport

Spanair Flight 5022 (JK5022) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Barcelona-El Prat Airport to Gran Canaria Airport, Spain, via Madrid Barajas Airport that crashed just after take-off from runway 36L at Madrid Airport at 14:24 CEST (12:24 UTC) on 20 August 2008. The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, registration EC-HFP. 154 people died; six died en route to hospital, one died overnight and one died in hospital three days later. Only 18 people survived.

It was the only fatal accident for Spanair (part of the SAS Group) in the 25-year history of the company, and the 14th fatal accident and 24th hull loss involving MD-80 series aircraft. It was Spain's deadliest accident since the 1983 crash of Avianca Flight 011.

The accident further worsened Spanair's already negative image at the time, which was plagued by poor customer service, frequent breakdowns, and delays. The crash exacerbated financial difficulties at Spanair, which ceased operations on 27 January 2012.

The aircraft, named Sunbreeze (registration EC-HFP; manufacturer's serial number 53148), had been acquired by Spanair in July 1999 and previously flown by Korean Airlines.

The flight was a Star Alliance codeshare (carrying passengers booked by multiple airlines), operated on behalf of Lufthansa as LH 2554. On board at takeoff were 166 passengers and six crew members. In charge of the flight was Captain Antonio Garcia Luna, 39. His first officer was Francisco Javier Mulet, 31.

The accident occurred as the aircraft attempted to take off, at 14:24 local time, due to the pilot's failure to deploy the flaps and slats as required for takeoff. Without the use of these "high-lift" devices, the wings could not generate enough lift to keep the aircraft airborne. The MD-80 has a warning system (the Take-off warning system or TOWS) that should have alerted the pilots that the plane was not correctly configured for take-off. However, the warning did not sound, and the pilots continued with the attempt. The aircraft left the ground momentarily, rolled to the right, and impacted the ground next to the runway. The wings separated from the aircraft and the fuselage broke into two main parts; the wings and the rear two-thirds of the fuselage were engulfed by fire.