Nation IN BRIEF : PENNSYLVANIA : Rudder Implicated as Cause of 737 Crash

Although the turbulent wake from another airliner may have affected it momentarily, USAir’s Flight 427 probably was hurled to the ground last Sept. 8 by its own control system, experts testified at a National Transportation Safety Board hearing in Pittsburgh. George Green, a NASA engineer, testified that the Boeing 737 entered the swirling vortices generated by a Delta Airlines Boeing 727 four miles ahead as the 737 was preparing to land at Pittsburgh. Seconds later, the USAir jet rolled and plunged 5,000 feet to the ground, killing all 132 aboard. But a Boeing aerodynamics expert suggested the accident probably was caused by a problem with the 737’s tail-mounted rudder.