Reverse Thrusters Eyed in Midway Accident

hard to translate back from mandatory newspaper -gibberish. (you don't want to offend women readers with correct detail.)

probably the thrust reversers were armed to go off automatically on touchdown, and did not do so (or they were not in fact armed), and the pilots deployed them manually after a fatal confusion-delay.

you can't tell if the ``brakes'' were the wheel brakes or wheel brakes plus thrust reversers.

CHICAGO -- The reverse thrusters that should have slowed a Southwest Airlines jetliner before it slid off a runway and into a busy street didn't immediately kick in when the pilots tried to deploy them, federal investigators said Saturday after interviewing the crew.

The flight attendants said they could tell the Boeing 737 wasn't slowing after it touched down in the snow Thursday evening, and the pilots said they applied the brakes manually as soon as they realized something was wrong, said Robert Benzon, National Transportation Safety Board investigator in charge.