1982 Airliner Crash Blamed on Bad Tire
Spanish aviation authorities said Friday a faulty tire tread led to the 1982 crash of a DC-10 charter plane that killed 55 people, including 32 Americans, at the Malaga airport.
The plane, belonging to the Spantax charter company and carrying 393 people to New York, crashed Sept. 13, 1982, when the pilot aborted his takeoff.
A civil aviation investigating team said the tread of the tire on the right front nose wheel became detached and violently shook the airplane, causing the pilot to believe he had engine trouble.
The plane overshot the runway, smashed through a fence, crossed a busy highway and burst into flames in a field.
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