NATION IN BRIEF : NORTH CAROLINA : USAir Crew Actions in Storm Faulted

A USAir jet crash during a thunderstorm in Charlotte in July could have been avoided if the pilots had used proper landing procedures for violent wind shifts, said an engineer with the maker of the jet. Flight 1016 crashed into the woods on July 2 after the aircraft aborted a landing during a thunderstorm, killing 37 of the 57 people on board. William Rickard of the aerodynamics-acoustics unit of Douglas Aircraft Co. said the flight crew may have been able to prevent the crash had they known of the deadly wind shear. They then could have followed normal flight procedures, Rickard told the National Transportation Safety Board.