Air crash update

An MD-82 aircraft operated by Spanair swerved off a runway and crashed as it attempted to take off from Madrid's Barajas Airport (LEMD/MAD) at 1423 local time (1223 UTC) on 20 August 2008. The aircraft came to rest in a field and caught fire; 153 of the 172 people who were on board the aircraft were killed, and several of the 19 survivors are in critical condition. The flight (Spanair Flight JK5022, also operated as a codeshare with Lufthansa as LH 2554) had departed from Terminal 4 on Runway 36 and was en route to Gran Canaria Airport (GCLP/LPA). Following the crash, Barajas Airport was temporarily closed, but flights have since resumed. Eyewitness reports indicate that the one of the aircraft's engines caught fire shortly after takeoff; it then made impact with the ground and split in two. The aircraft returned to the gate prior to its initial departure that was scheduled for 1300 local time (1100 UTC), reportedly due to a problem with the temperature gauge, delaying its takeoff. An investigation into the cause of the crash is currently underway.