Spain’s worst air accident for 25 years was caused by faulty landing flaps and not by engine failure, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Spanair MD-82 jet, which was headed for the Canary Islands, crashed moments after taking off From Madrid’s Barajas airport last month, killing 154 people and injuring 18.

The flaps, found on the underside of a plane’s wings, are used to slow down during landing or speed up during take-off. Preliminary investigations show the MD-82’s lack of speed was caused by the malfunctioning of the flaps, according to the American newspaper.

An electrical failure also meant the pilots were unaware of the problem, the report said.

The paper said it had received information on the investigation of the aircraft’s black boxes, the name of the devices used to record flight data. The black boxes are currently being analysed by a specialist laboratory in the United Kingdom.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that initial investigations show that the engines were working correctly and did not catch fire, contrary to earlier theories on the cause of the accident.

The MD-82, unable to take-off, crashed tail-first into the ground before breaking up and catching fire, killing the majority of passengers onboard.

© 2008 AFP