Says US Pilots Should Be Treated Fairly

Editor's Note: The following is the unedited text of a letter from Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Phil Boyer to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

There is increasing pressure on the Brazilian government to reconsider its refusal to allow the return to the US of two US pilots involved in a September mid-air collision suspected of causing the crash of a GOL airlines 737.

Media reports in the Brazilian press call into question the integrity of almost all of the major Brazilian players in this investigation. The reported political infighting among the country's various agencies would seem to make an unbiased investigation almost impossible.

In light of the events, more and more agencies and influential political figures in the US are joining in asking why two pilots are being forced to remain in the country against their will when all the evidence to this point seems to show no wrongdoing on their part.

Public statements by the judges who confiscated the US pilots' passports indicate the pair might face criminal prosecution pending results of the investigation.

Dear Secretary Rice:
 
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) representing 410,000 US pilots, requests your intervention in securing the release of two American pilots currently being detained by Brazilian authorities investigating the crash of Gol Airlines Flight #1907. 

These US citizens are pilots for Excelair and were involved in the September 29, 2006 mid-air collision between a GOL Airlines Boeing 737 and an Embraer Legacy business jet.  To date, the pilots have been detained for more than seven weeks without criminal charges or explanation, which is in violation of international aviation treaties.  It appears from media reports that the accident investigation could take another ten months to complete, placing these US pilots in jeopardy of being detained indefinitely.

AOPA is not taking a position on the accident or the investigative process; however, it is critical that due process be followed.  These US citizen pilots should be treated fairly under the law, and the US State Department must take action to obtain their release and their return to the US.

AOPA urges you to intervene with the Brazilian government to facilitate the release of these Americans to allow them to return home safely.

FMI: www.aopa.org