Madrid - Relatives of the 153 people killed in the Madrid air disaster this week expressed anger Saturday and predicted the investigation would be a cover-up.

"In the end the pilot will be blamed. He's dead and the whole business will get bogged down," an unidentified relative said.

Police and psychologists were brought in to speak to the relatives and in order to prevent a scuffle, as many expressed doubt that the identification process would proceed flawlessly.

Following the death of 62 Spanish soldiers in an aircraft crash in Turkey in 2003, many of the families were given the wrong remains to bury.

A technician who gave the all-clear for the MD-82 flight to take off on Wednesday, following an aborted take-off, told police he had acted in accordance with regulations, Spanish press reports said.

A lawyer said the relatives had been unable to agree on setting up an organization to represent their interests. Under the law, they would receive at least 127,000 euros
(188,000 dollars) for each victim, he said.

The El Mundo daily said aviation experts were looking into two theories on the cause of the accident: that parts of one engine had broken away damaging the controls, or that both engines had suffered loss of power.

Nineteen people, most of whom sustained severe injuries, survived the crash which was the worst air disaster in Spain for 25 years.

The twin-engined MD-82 gained just 50 metres altitude after take- off before veering to one side, crashing into a dried-out valley and bursting into flames. (dpa)