Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 26, 1994 TAG: 9411180022
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
PITTSBURGH - Rudder hydraulic fluid from the USAir jet that crashed Sept. 8 contained more impurities than originally thought, prompting experts to launch a new line of investigation in the crash.
A National Transportation Safety Board spokesman said investigators don't know whether the level of contamination was enough to cause problems with the plane's rudder-control system. They plan to conduct more tests to find out how contaminated hydraulic fluids affect the systems, NTSB spokesman Michael Benson said.
Benson told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the NTSB will compare the fluid from the downed jet with samples from about 20 to 25 other Boeing 737s.
Investigators also will conduct more tests on USAir Flight 427's power-control unit, the device that moves the rudder back and forth. Pilots use the rudder to turn a plane.
- Associated Press
Illegal CFCs thwart EPA clean-air efforts
WASHINGTON - Millions of pounds of ozone-killing chemicals are pouring illegally into the United States, confounding attempts to shift to a less environmentally harmful chemical.
Industry and government officials said Tuesday the illegal imports of chlorofluorocarbons - perhaps as much as 20 million pounds a year by some estimates - have created a lucrative black market in a type of CFC used as a refrigerant for automobile air conditioners and commercial and home cooling systems.
By some estimates, the illegal imports cost the federal government $100 million a year in lost excise taxes alone, said Kevin Fay, executive director of the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy.
- Associated Press
by CNB