Jet Crew Cites Thrusters in Chicago Accident

The reverse thrusters that should have slowed a Southwest Airlines jetliner before it slid off a runway at Midway Airport in Chicago and into the street didn’t immediately kick in when the pilots tried to deploy them, federal investigators said after interviewing crew members.

How much of a role that braking equipment played in Thursday’s deadly accident wasn’t immediately clear, though.

The pilots told investigators they began applying the brakes manually as soon as they noticed that the plane wasn’t slowing properly. The plane slid through a fence and into street traffic, where it hit two cars and killed a 6-year-old boy riding with his family. Ten people, most of them on the ground, were injured.