Probe centres on part needing repair

SPECULATION on what caused the plane disaster centred yesterday on a plane part that had to be fixed after the flight first tried to take off.

Javier Mendoza, a spokesman for Spanair, said the plane had overheating problems with its air intake valve, located beneath the cockpit, during its initial takeoff.

The plane returned to the gate and the valve was fixed by technicians turning it off, said Mendoza, explaining that this was standard procedure.