Justice blind to Spanair crash victims, association complains

SEVEN years on, families of the 154 victims of a Spanair crash in Madrid are still demanding justice and claim they feel they have been abandoned.

Flight JK5022 crashed to the ground just after takeoff from Barajas Airport at 2.24pm on August 20, 2008, and just 18 people survived the crash, one of the worst air catastrophes in Spain’s history.

On the anniversary of the tragic accident, an association of affected people has released statements claiming that justice is blind to the interests of the victims but not to those of those responsible for their deaths, referring to Civil Aviation Accidents investigations.

The association has claimed that the truth about air crashes is kept buried and accused the insurance company of using infinite resources to offend honest people by making unacceptable offers that would prove solely to boost company results.

“Air safety in Spain and all over the world is getting worse. It has made a sharp turn,” association president Pilar Vera said.

“Wounds are far from healing, in fact they get worse as time goes on. The state has to give us an answer to soothe our immense pain,” the association members said.

Memorials, flowers and readings were arranged on Thursday (August 20) both in Gran Canaria, where the flight was meant to go, and Madrid.