MSNBC.com, "Thruster
turned off when Brazil TAM Airlines plane landed and
crashed"
One
of the two reverse thrusters on an airliner carrying
186 people that crashed in a fireball was turned off
when the plane landed, the jet’s owner said, as
officials tried to determine why it raced down a runway
instead of slowing down. However, the airline insisted
late Thursday that the thruster, used by jets to slow
down just after touching down, had been deactivated earlier
in accordance with proper maintenance procedures.
Brazil’s Globo
TV reported earlier Thursday that an unidentified problem in the Airbus-320’s
right reverse thruster emerged four days before the crash and was under investigation
by authorities.
TAM, the airline,
did not provide details about the problem but the company told Globo TV that
Airbus maintenance rules approved by Brazilian aviation officials say the type
of problem found must be inspected within 10 days and that the planes can fly
in the interim.
