Says Focus Needs To Be On Investigation's Findings, Internal Issues

Saying Brazilian authorities have put "the cart in front of the horse" in that country's pursuit of charges against two American pilots involved in a tragic midair collision in 2006, an international pilots' association Friday called for Brazil to drop its criminal investigation into the accident.

As ANN reported, pilots Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino were at the controls of an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet that collided with a GOL Airlines 737-800 September 29, 2006 over the Brazilian Amazon. The pilots were able to safely land their stricken bizjet... but all 154 people onboard the airliner were killed when it crashed in the jungle, about 18 miles from Peixoto de Azevedo.

A preliminary investigation found the Embraer was flying at 37,000 feet bound for the US when it collided with the southeast-bound 737 traveling on the same airway. The Legacy was at a nonstandard altitude for the northwest-bound flight, but ATC transcripts indicate controllers told the Legacy to fly 1,000 feet higher than the altitude filed on the pilot's flight plan -- putting the two planes on a collision course.

After being detained in Brazil for several months and having their passports seized, the two pilots were allowed to return to the US three months later... on the condition they would return to Brazil to face charges, filed before the men actually left the country.

Last month, a Brazilian judge denied the pilots' request to testify in their case in that country from US soil, citing an international legal treaty.

Gideon Ewers, spokesman for the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations, said Friday it's time for Brazil to own up to its internal air safety problems -- as evidenced by a TAM A320 crash in July, that claimed 199 people -- and stop scapegoating the two Americans.

"The bottom line is they've got the cart in front of the horse on this," Ewers said, according to Newsday. "If they're serious about improving air safety in Brazil, they've got to wait for the (technical) report and swiftly apply any recommendations made by it."

In addition to the two Americans, four Brazilian air traffic controllers also face charges in the criminal case. An investigation by Brazil's air accident investigation body has yet to be completed.

"A Federal Police investigation running in parallel with the independent accident investigation ... risks obscuring the benefits of a proper investigation," said a statement from the pilots' association. "Accordingly, IFALPA calls on the Brazilian government to suspend the legislative inquiry and the Justice Ministry to adjourn criminal proceedings."

Both US And Brazilian officials agree the Legacy's transponder -- and the associated TCAS -- were not functioning at the time of the accident... a situation that went unnoticed by both pilots.

As ANN reported, the NTSB issued a related series of safety recommendations for Legacy 600 pilots in May... and the FAA warned Legacy pilots could accidentally place the transponder in Standby mode when placing their feet on a footrest below the panel.

FMI: www.brasilemb.com, www.ifalpa.org