Asiana crash: Was auto-throttle a factor?

[WASHINGTON] US investigators are debating whether to blame a Boeing Co jetliner's design for helping cause a cascade of pilot mistakes in last year's Asiana Airlines Inc crash in San Francisco that killed three teenagers.

The sticking point within the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) ahead of its final decision has been the extent to which Boeing's automatic throttle contributed to the plane's loss of speed before it slammed into a seawall on July 6, said three people with knowledge of the discussions. They asked not to be identified because they were not authorised to speak.

The safety board was yesterday due to decide on the probable cause and other factors leading to the crash, the first in the US with passenger deaths in more than four years. While there is little doubt that the pilots made multiple mistakes, a finding that equipment on th…