Three Days of National Mourning in Spain

Spain has entered a period of mourning after the deaths of 153 in a plane crash in Madrid yesterday afternoon.

Relatives have been seen attending the makeshift morgue that has been set up at a nearby exhibition center, the same place where the deceased were taken after the Madrid Bombings of 2004.

Press reports continue to focus on speculation on how the accident happened, though no official findings will be released for some time.

Blame for the crash is focussed on the plane itself, not on the airport facilities. The runway where the plane was taking off is new and is one of the longest in the world.

The National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched a team of investigators to the scene of the accident, as is standard procedure for accidents involving American-built planes. Lessons will be learned from the accident, new checks will be carried out and flying will be even safer in future.

Tragic accidents such as this one shake even the most frequent flyers. But it is important to remember that accidents like this are rare, particularly in the West, and that flying in Spain (or anywhere in the world) is safe. This was only the ninth fatal incident in 20 million flights of this type of aircraft, according to AirDisaster.com.

Read this piece in The Independent on Irrational Fears of Flying if you need your mind setting at ease.