Flap Error May Have Caused Spanair Crash

Electrical failure kept pilots from getting warning, investigators believe
By Ambreen Ali,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 3, 2008 4:00 PM CDT
Flap Error May Have Caused Spanair Crash
A plane takes off near the site where a Spanair jet crashed last month.    (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Pilots of the Spanair jet that crashed last month didn't extend the aircraft's flaps before takeoff—and an electrical malfunction likely kept them from getting a warning about it, the Wall Street Journal reports. The flaps, on the backs of wings, are needed for an extra lift when an aircraft takes off. Investigators are looking at why a pre-takeoff checklist didn't catch the error. (More Spanair stories.)

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