Ex-Nasa inspector accused of lying about Shuttle checks

A former Nasa inspector has been accused of lying about inspecting crucial parts on the space shuttle Discovery before and after the Columbia disaster that killed seven astronauts and grounded the entire orbiter fleet.

Billy T Thornton falsified records about 83 Discovery inspections over nine days from October 24, 2002, to May 14, 2003, according to a federal indictment unsealed yesterday. Nasa fired him in September last year.