NTSB Will Fly Jets to Test if Turbulence Could Have Caused USAir 737 Crash

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Investigators will use two jets in an experiment to try to determine whether another plane’s turbulence could have caused the crash of USAir Flight 427, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Sunday.

Investigators agree that the jet’s rudder moved sharply to the left, sending the plane into a steep bank before it fell nose-first to the ground. But they’re not sure why the rudder moved.

The National Transportation Safety Board will use the planes to test if a Boeing 727 flying four miles ahead of the USAir Boeing 737 could have caused enough turbulence to trigger the crash, the paper reported, quoting a source close to the investigation.

The NTSB will lease a Boeing 737 and borrow a Boeing 727 from the Federal Aviation Administration, rig both with sensors and fly them in conditions similar to those of the night of the crash.

Investigators plan to conduct the $2 million, test before the end of May, the newspaper said.

The September crash just outside Pittsburgh killed all 132 people aboard.