Over 100 killed in Madrid plane crash

“There were 178 passengers on board, including the crew,” said Valentin Narro, an official at the Interior Ministry’s office for Madrid.

A Red Cross official at the airport said the aircraft, Spanair flight JK5022, swerved off the runway during takeoff and caught fire. Television footage of the accident showed clouds of white smoke billowing over the runway at Madrid Barajas International Airport.

Olivia Acosta, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross at Barajas airport, said 22 ambulances were at the scene and that a makeshift hospital had been set up.

Spanair is a troubled low-cost carrier owned by Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS). SAS confirmed that an accident had taken place at the Madrid airport involving the Spanair flight from Madrid to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. The plane model was a Boeing MD-82, a type of MD-80.

In April, the Federal Aviation Administration inspected American Airline MD-80s and found a maintenance problem: wiring bundles that had been improperly wrapped and attached inside wheel wells. The airline canceled 3,300 flights.

The wiring is required to be stowed in a way to avoid chafing by moving parts in the wheel well, which otherwise could result in an electric short.

Spanair, founded in 1986, has hubs in Madrid and Barcelona and flies within Spain and the rest of Europe, as well as West Africa.

The airline, which carried 11.2 million passengers last year, is part of the Star Alliance, which also includes United Airlines, Air Canada, SAS and Lufthansa of Germany.

Earlier on Wednesday, Spanair pilots had threatened to go on strike, saying management did not have a plan to fix the carrier’s problems.