USAir Probe Turns to Mechanical Failure : Investigators Examine Pieces of Jet That Crashed at La Guardia

An investigation into the crash of USAir Flight 5050 focused Saturday on the possibility of mechanical failure, although officials said the rookie co-pilot had punched the wrong cockpit button just before the craft plunged into the East River.

Investigators continued removing pieces of the plane’s fuselage from the water off a runway at La Guardia Airport, National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said. The parts will be examined to determine if there were any mechanical problems in addition to the reported pilot error, he said.

Speaking of the co-pilot’s mistake, Lopatkiewicz said: “It may turn out that was unrelated to what happened.”

Strongly Criticized

The flight’s pilot and co-pilot had their flight licenses suspended for leaving the accident scene and were strongly criticized Friday by federal officials for failing to immediately submit to drug and alcohol testing.

“At a time when drug abuse has become a major national problem, we believe the American public has a right to know that its transportation system is alcohol and drug free,” said acting NTSB Chairman James Kolstad.

“The failure to promptly volunteer for alcohol and drug testing following a major accident is inexcusable,” he said, echoing an angry statement by Federal Aviation Administration head James B. Busey.

The Air Line Pilots Assn., the union that issued a statement defending the pilots Friday, offered no response Saturday to the comments about testing or the suspensions. The pilots are not required by law to submit to testing after a crash.

Questioned by Investigators

Pilot Michael Martin, 36, and co-pilot Constantine Kleissas, 29, submitted to urinalysis Friday after five hours of questioning by federal investigators. The results of the tests were not available Saturday.

Flight 5050 crashed into the East River late Wednesday when its takeoff was aborted. Two people died and 59 others were rescued. The flight had been headed to Charlotte, N.C.

At a news conference late Friday, Kolstad revealed that Kleissas--attempting his first operational takeoff of a Boeing 737-400--inadvertently pressed a button that caused the plane to decelerate.

Martin then accelerated the plane, but decided to abort the takeoff because the craft began drifting to the left and “the pilot felt and heard a vibration which concerned him,” Kolstad said.

Runs Out of Room

Martin believed he had enough room on the runway to stop the plane, but it instead skidded off the runway and into the water, cracking the fuselage into three sections.

Kolstad also said that, as the plane accelerated down the runway, the captain, acting as co-pilot, did not call out the jet’s speed as required.

“It was clearly a lack of proper procedure being followed in the cockpit,” Kolstad said. Lopatkiewicz said investigators were trying to find out what made the plane drift to the left.

Kolstad also said reports that Martin appeared incoherent in the cockpit before the crash were not true, and Kleissas apologized for making those remarks.