Spain ? The airliner that crashed this week in Madrid had just barely got airborne and its right wing dipped sharply before the plane started wobbling and went down, one of the few survivors of the disaster said Saturday.

Ligia Palomino Riveros, a 42-year-old Colombian-born Spaniard, also told The Associated Press that after a seemingly minor technical malfunction forced the pilot to abandon a first takeoff attempt, she thought the airline was going to – and should – switch planes.

She said two buses were brought in next to the Spanair MD-82 bound for the Canary Islands, and she assumed these were to take passengers to another plane. They did not.

The Spanair mechanic who dealt with the breakdown – a faulty air temperature gauge near the cockpit – and certified the plane as ready to fly has been questioned by police and crash investigators, Spanair confirmed Saturday.

Only 19 people survived the tragedy at Madrid’s airport.