The pilot of a Southwest Airlines plane that skidded off a snowy Chicago runway and onto adjacent streets told U.S. safety investigators that he had some mechanical trouble when the aircraft touched the ground, a spokesman for the investigation said on Sunday, Reuters Reported The pilot told the investigators the thrust reversers, which slow down a plane, didn't immediately kick in when he deployed them, said Keith Holloway, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board. "The captain told us when he initially tried the thrust reversers, he couldn't do it," said Holloway. The problem was quickly corrected as the first officer was able to deploy them, he said. The National Transportation Safety Board is trying to determine what caused the Boeing 737 with 98 passengers and five crew to plunge through a fence-like barrier and onto a busy street during a snowstorm on Thursday evening. The crash killed a 6-year-old boy riding in a car and injured 13 people. The plane has been removed from the scene of the crash, Holloway said. --SP 2300 Local Time 2000 GMT
