The outcome of a Parliamentary inquiry into one of Spain’s worst air tragedies has been endorsed by the country’s Constitutional Court, despite attempts to block it.
The tragedy occurred in August 2008 at Madrid Airport when a flight bound for Gran Canaria crashed after take-off. A total of 154 people died, with just 18 surviving, when the Spanair flight plummeted to the ground seconds after lifting off due to an incorrect take-off configuration. Many of the passengers were from the Canarians who were flying back from the capital at the height of the holiday season.
In addition to the formal investigation by the civil aviation authorities, a committee of inquiry was set up by Parliament to probe responsibilities covering a range of issues from the airworthiness certification of the stricken to the post-crash response by the government and Madrid airport.
The committee identified 18 people who it said should be held accountable for a series of failings, among them the then transport minister Magdalena Alvarez and senior figures at the ministry, as well as several top officials at Madrid Airport. The findings have been the source of a bitter political dispute since then, with Álvarez and others singled out for blame challenging the validity of the committee of inquiry’s conclusions.
The long-running dispute has now been settled by the Constitutional Court, which has upheld the findings, much to the relief of the families of the victims, who have campaigned tirelessly for full accountability for the tragedy.
Every year, the anniversary of the tragedy – Spain’s third worst air crash – is marked by commemorations in Madrid and Gran Canaria. The Spanish government recently designated 20 August as National Day of Remembrance for Air Accident Victims in response to a lengthy campaign by the Spanair tragedy families.
The lessons learnt from the 2008 crash, particularly the delays in confirming details of those on board, led the European Parliament to pass a regulation obliging passenger lists to be released within two hours of an accident. The new rules were a key part of the Union’s drive to harmonise and strengthen the independence of air accident investigations, making them free of pressure from regulatory or other authorities. A further measure ordered safety investigation authorities to publish final accident reports as quickly as possible – preferably within twelve months of an accident.
