Mumbai: 

Relieved: Lilit couldn't control her tears after learning that her two sons did not board the flight. PIC/AP

She was waiting for her 13-year-old and 14-year-old children at Las Palmas airport when she heard about the crash in Madrid.

With scores of dead, the woman, identified only as Lilit, feared the worst and became one of the many people anxiously gathering for news of their relatives, hoping they would be among the reported survivors. But then, as details became clearer, she was told by journalists that her daughter and son, Clara and Enrique, had not been on the flight and had taken another plane. Overcome with relief that they had survived, she broke down in tears.

Only 19 people survived the crash that killed 153.

A couple from the Canary Islands told a similar story: their lives were saved because they missed the flight by just three minutes. The man, identified as Héctor, said that he and his girlfriend were heading home at the end of their holidays. He said that when they arrived at the check-in desk, they were told that the flight had closed. Annoyance turned to overwhelming relief on realising what had happened.

Another passenger, identified only as Goretti, said she had nearly bought a ticket for the flight, but opted for a cheaper one and was on her way to the airport when she saw the flames.

Plane had overheated valve

The Spanair plane that crashed in Madrid reported an air intake valve overheating before a first attempt at takeoff, but it was not immediately clear whether that was a factor in the accident.

Spanair spokesman Javier Mendoza said a valve was reported to have overheated in the front of the plane under the cockpit and technicians corrected the problem by turning it off. He said turning off such a device in these circumstances is an accepted procedure. The plane was eventually cleared by technicians, but it crashed on its second attempt to take off for the Canary Islands.