New safety checks for airline

FURTHER SAFETY checks on Korean Air aircraft are to be carried out following mounting concern over the airworthiness of their planes in the wake of the Stansted cargo plane disaster.

Officials from the Department of Environment Transport and the Regions have instructed further "ramp checks" prior to take-off after voicing concern about apparent lapses in record keeping.

It was also revealed that Korean Air, which has one of the worst safety records in the industry, had already been the subject of extra safety checks by Civil Aviation Authority inspectors. All three of its planes investigated in spot checks by the authority were found to be fit for flying and it was decided that there was insufficient evidence to ground the airline.

The investigation into Wednesday's crash, in which the Boeing 747 cargo jet's four crew were killed, will consider several possible causes. There was confusion last night over eyewitness reports which suggested one of the engines was on fire during takeoff. An airport spokeswoman said: "It definitely was not on fire. As far as we are aware the aircraft had a normal take-off and there was definitely no fire."

Some witnesses reported seeing an engine on fire before the plane left the ground and others said they saw the aircraft in flames before impact. Remy Spruce, 8, who saw the aircraft fly past her family's kitchen window, said: "I saw a big spark go across the window then I heard a big bang." Her mother, Amanda, said the plane was on fire in the seconds before impact. Amanda's friend, Dawn Waggot, who was also in the kitchen, said: "You could see it through the window coming straight at us, glowing orange and on fire."

Witnesses said police officers had recovered pieces of engine, fuselage and cargo along the runway, which points to a massive explosion even before the plane cleared the airport boundary. The airport claimed this debris had been blown back from the crash site a mile away.

Some experts pointed out that its cargo may have shifted, or that the pilot may have made an error in controlling the jet, but most attention centred on accounts of an engine seen blazing as the plane took off.

While it would have been possible to fly the 747 on its three remaining engines, it is thought the fire may have spread to a second one, orcaused an explosion destroyingthe aircraft's control systems.

The flight, bound for Milan, took off at 6.40pm on Wednesday. It crashed almost immediately, coming down a mile from the airport, close to the town of Bishop's Stortford and the M11. Air traffic controllers said there had been no mayday calls. Investigators have recovered one of two "black boxes" which should reveal any flight deck conversations.

It was revealed yesterday that the jet was carrying explosives as part of its freight, although a definitive list of its cargo was unavailable.

Tony Lilliot, Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Essex, said the explosives - in the form of detonating cord - were listed as potentially dangerous.

While the consignment consisted of less than two kilograms of detonating cord - an amount not expected to explode, the plane had been carrying 33 tons of fuel when it took off. That would explain the "fireball" seen by witnesses, added Mr Lilliot.

John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, visited Stan- sted yesterday and said: "I am very relieved that the population of the area was spared in this terrible accident," he said.

Norman Mead, chairman of the parish council of Great Hallingbury, near the crash site, urged Mr Prescott to ground Korean Air until investigation was completed. The airport reopened yesterday, but thousands of passengers still face delays. Airport officials hope normal services to resume by today.

Further reports, page 3