Airliner Crashes In Spain, Killing 153

Spain — A Spanish airliner crashed on take-off, killing at least 153 people yesterday just an hour after aborting its first attempt to leave the runway because of technical problems.

The Spanair jet's left engine had caught fire as it took off. The plane then crashed on to the runway and burst apart in a fireball.

Earlier it had returned to its gate at Barajas airport in Madrid after an attempt at take off failed.

However, an hour after arriving back at the gate, the crew of the McDonnell Douglas MD82, attempted another take-off which proved fatal. According to one report last night the jet was seen coming out of a maintenance shed.

Spanish authorities have recovered the black box flight recorder, which could help them establish the cause of the crash.