European Agency Demands Checks on DC-9s, MD-80s

BERLIN_Europe's aviation safety authority has ordered airplane crews to make mandatory pre-flight checks on warning systems for flaps and slats on all DC-9 and MD-80 airplanes.

The Cologne, Germany-based European Aviation Safety Agency says the directive is based on information from Spanish officials into what caused a SpanAir passenger jet to crash upon takeoff on Aug. 20. That crash in Madrid killed 154 people.

In its directive Wednesday, the agency calls the check a "precautionary measure."

Spanish authorities have not determined a cause for the SpanAir crash, but are focusing on the plane's wing flaps and the failure of a cockpit alarm to sound.