NTSB Unsure of Cause for Obama Plane Problem

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) disembarks from his campaign plane after making an unscheduled landing at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport in St. Louis July 7, 2008. (Associated Press)
By Shailagh Murray.

A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board found no clear reason why an evacuation slide deployed while Sen. Barack Obama was flying Monday from Chicago to Charlotte, N.C., forcing his Midwest Airlines MD-81 aircraft to land in St. Louis.

According to the report, an examination of the slide's hardware revealed no signs of tampering or missing components, or any evidence of punctures in the slide. But investigators did find "marks consistent with rubbing of elevator control cables," the report found. "Additional evidence was found to indicate that a catwalk railing was broken and impinged upon elevator control cables." The slide and hardware will be sent to the manufacturer for detailed examinations supervised by the NTSB.

The report stated that flight crew members did not hear the slide deploy, nor did a mechanic who was seated in the rear of the airplane. But soon after the plane departed from Midway Airport in Chicago, it was clear to the pilots that something was amiss. "The flight crew confirmed that they detected elevator control stiffness during the initial level off after departure," the report stated.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/07/10/ntsb_unsure_of_cause_for_obama.html

Fonte: Flight Safety Information 14/07/2008.