NATION IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON STATE : Clue Found to Faulty Jet Thrust Reversers

The Boeing Co. said in Seattle that a piece of O-ring could accidentally deploy thrust reversers of the type used on a Lauda Air 767 that crashed in Thailand three months ago, killing all 222 aboard. The firm said that its engineers had made a thrust reverser deploy by inserting a sliver of the O-ring inside a direction control valve. But a spokesman said there is no evidence that this is what caused the crash of the Lauda jet. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered operators of some 767s to deactivate the planes’ thrust reversers, which change the direction of engine exhaust to slow the plane on the ground.