The Spanish Comision de Investigacion de Accidentes e Incidentes de Aviacion Civil, or CIAIAC, last week issued its preliminary report into the Aug. 20, 2008 fatal crash of a Spanair McDonnell Douglas MD-82.

Spanair Flight JK5022/LH2554 crashed on takeoff from Madrid's Barajas International, The jetliner, operated by a subsidiary of SAS, was bound for Las Palmas de Gran Canarias, Canary Islands.A total of 154 people died in the accident, Spain's worst air disaster in 25 years. Eighteen people survived.

The preliminary report said that the aircraft's wing flaps were in the incorrect position for takeoff, but cockpit alarms did not sound.

'Throughout the entire takeoff run and after getting airborne neither flight data nor cockpit voice recorders recorded any warning related to a wrong takeoff configuration. The flight data recorder recorded the flaps position at 0 degrees from engine start to impact with ground.

"The airplane got airborne about 1,950 meters from the takeoff threshold of the runway and reached a maximum height of 40 feet. The aircraft banked slightly to the left followed by a quick roll to a right bank angle of 20 degrees, again a slight left bank and another quick roll to the right at 32 degrees, during which the maximum pitch angle of 18 degrees was recorded," the preliminary report stated.

"The investigation continues," the report said. "It will be necessary to carry out tests and an exhaustive examination of the recovered parts of the plane."