International Herald Tribune, "Pilots May Have Mishandled Airbrakes in Siberia Crash"

          Investigators are looking into whether the crew of an Airbus jet that went off a runway in Siberia on July 9 may have improperly used a braking system that was partly disabled before takeoff, people with knowledge of the inquiry say.
          The model involved in the crash, the Airbus A310, has a thrust reverser on each of its two engines to assist the wheel brakes in slowing the plane down. But the plane in the accident, flown by a Russian airline called S7, began its overnight flight from Moscow with one of its thrust reversers disabled, possibly as a result of mechanical failure.
          In Irkutsk, the plane ran off the runway and ripped through a six-foot concrete barrier, slammed into several small buildings, and burst into flames, killing 124 of the 203 passengers and crew aboard.
          Investigators examining the flight data recorder have not reached any definitive conclusions about the cause of the crash. It appeared, according to one investigator, that while both engines gained power after touchdown, the one without the thrust reverser gained power more slowly.
          The investigation is under the control of the Russian government, which has released only limited information.