Judge Halts Testing on Engine of DC-10 That Crashed in Iowa

CHICAGO —  A judge on Tuesday barred the National Transportation Safety Board from further testing of an engine on the United Airlines DC-10 that crashed July 19 in Sioux City, Iowa.

Associate Cook County Circuit Judge Joseph Casciato, acting on an emergency complaint filed by attorney William J. Harte, said an independent tester should be used to check the engine of United Flight 232.

Harte filed the suit on behalf of attorney John Kennelly, who has filed four lawsuits stemming from the crash.

Harte asked that the NTSB testing be stopped because General Electric, which made the engine and is one of three defendants in the class-action lawsuits, was involved in the testing.

Attorneys for the NTSB vowed to challenge the order in federal court.

“We are prohibited from conducting our own investigation,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. William T. Clabault in representing the NTSB. “The judge should not have decided federal law is unconstitutional.”

Casciato ruled that a “qualified laboratory and experienced metallurgists” must test the titanium disk from the rotor fan of the tail engine to determine the cause of the breakup that led to the crash.

The jetliner, its hydraulic systems severely damaged when the tail engine disintegrated, crashed while attempting to land at the northwest Iowa airport, killing 112 of the 296 people aboard.

An attorney for General Electric, Sara J. Gourley, argued the NTSB’s standard practice of conducting tests in the laboratory of the manufacturer of the part under inspection is appropriate.

A spokesman for McDonnell Douglas, the plane’s manufacturer, said the company had no preference for where testing is done.

“We want all evidence preserved for everyone,” said Norman J. Barry. “That way, the results of testing will be above suspicion.”