A helicopter drops water on the wreckage of a crashed Spanair passenger plane at Barajas airport on August 20, 2008 in Madrid, Spain. (Denis Doyle/Getty Images )
"The aircraft, an MD-82, was en route from Madrid to Las Palmas when the accident occurred, at 14:23 hours local time. We can confirm that there were 166 passengers and six crew onboard," SAS said in a statement.
