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Category: <span>Congonhas SP Brazil</span>

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Jato derrapa em Congonhas


AVIAÇÃO
Jato derrapa em Congonhas | 14:58

Um problema na hora da decolagem de um jatinho King Air no aeroporto de Congonhas pode atrapalhar os horários de pousos e decolagens da tarde e da noite de hoje. O jato, que pertence a rede de drogarias Ultrafarma, derrapou na hora da decolagem e bateu num muro. Foi o que na linguagem técnica do setor é chamado de ‘decolaem abortiva, ou seja, quando o jato ia decolar o piloto decidiu parar o procedimento, após detectar probelmas.
O piloto, o co-piloto e um passageiro foram removidos de ambulância. Mas os ferimentos foram leves. E a pista do aeroporto está interditada.


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Is Brazil a One Trick Pony?

In May, will Tam become the only Brazilian airline flying out of Brazil? If Ocean Air and Varig cancel all their International flights, their fleets of Boeing 737, Ebraer and Folker airplanes will service only Intra-Brazilian destinations.

Brazil’s aviation safety record is notoriously negative. In 2007, electrical problems shut down Brazilian airspace for 2½ hours. Brazil diverted incoming flights to return to their respective points of origin or unscheduled landings at airports from Chile to Puerto Rico. (This was subsequent to the Sao Paulo Airbus A320 TAM Airlines Flight 3054 crash, but it was by no means the first disaster.) The last couple of years,in fact, Brazil’s entire civil aviation system has been in crisis, suffering from safety issues, air traffic controller strikes as well as flight cancellations and delays. The so-called “Apagão Aéreo” (Aerial blackout) followed the Gol Flight 1907 mid-air collision.

The four CINDACTA, or “Centro Integrado de Defesa Aérea e Controle de Tráfego Aéreo (Integrated Air Traffic Control and Air Defense Centers) are run by the Brazilian Air Force. The government’s Tribunal de Contas da União (Union Accounting Tribunal) holds the Brazilian Government responsible for the disastrous record, due in part to Pan American World Airways Flight 202 ( April 28, 1952), VASP Flight 168 ( June 8, 1982), Varig Flight 254 ( September 3 1989), and TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 (October 31, 1996), among others.


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Tam Air Flight 3054 Case Filed

Partner of the elite legal team of Masry and Vititoe, Podhurst Orseck filed 59 wrongful death lawsuits for the families of passengers killed on July 17, 2007 aboard Brazil’s TAM Airlines Flight 3054. The Law Office of Masry and Vititoe is familiar to the public as the firm depicted in the academy award winning film, “Erin Brockovich,” starring Julia Roberts.

The 59 wrongful death lawsuits stem from the notorious Flight 3054, the worst airline disaster in Brazil’s history, when the A320 TAM Linhas Aareas aircraft attempted landing at Sao Paolo’s Congonhas airport and slammed into an air cargo building, killing 199 people (187 aboard the plane and 12 ground crew). Aware that the thrust reverser (an instrument that helps planes slow down on landings) had been deactivated during a maintenance check, the pilots mishandled the landing procedures. The parties included in the lawsuits are TAM, leasing company Pegasus Aviation, Airbus, Airbus Customer Services, Goodrich (thrust reverser provider) and International Aero Engines.

The devastation was compounded when, within hours of the disaster, TAM released the passenger manifest via the internet. Abandoning the families of the crash victims to draw their own conclusions, Tam neglected to assign personal contact with the families of the victimized passengers to notify them of their loss.

In prior airline crash cases, Masry and Vititoe has partnered with internationally recognized Florida-based aviation attorneys Podhurst Orseck. In addition to the Tam Flight 3054 case, together they also currently represent families of the passengers aboard the Gol Transportes Aeros Flight #1907 that collided with an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet over the Amazon Rainforest in September 2006. They also represent victims’ families in the Sibir Airlines crash that involved the same type of Airbus under similar circumstances; they too attempted landing in the rain, failed to stop and crashed into a building resulting in catastrophic loss of life.

About Masry and Vititoe
Masry and Vititoe is a leading law firm whose compassionate policy of keeping in personal contact further supports their clients’ comfort and confidence. The Masry and Vititoe firm has been defending the rights of the victims of negligence for over 30 years. As in the Hinkey case on which the movie “Erin Brockovich” was based, the firm is known for pursuing the rights of individuals who have suffered acute and chronic chemical exposure. They represent thousands of injured persons throughout the country, from Hawaii to the East Coast, and on their behalf have fearlessly combated and prevailed against some of the world’s largest corporations, including Fortune 500 companies, public utilities and oil companies.


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TAM Crash Families File Suit in Florida

TAM Crash Families File Suit in Florida

ACCIDENT: Attorneys for the families of passengers killed on TAM Linhas Aereas Flight 3054 filed 58 wrongful death lawsuits in Florida last week. The 17 July 2007 crash, the worst in Brazil’s history, killed 187 on board and 12 people on the ground when an A320 attempted a go-around at Sao Paolo’s Congonhas airport and slammed into a building just past the runway end. The investigation in part is focusing on whether the pilots mishandled landing operations in light of a known inoperative thrust reverser. Parties named in the lawsuits include TAM, leasing company Pegasus Aviation, Airbus, Airbus Customer Services, thrust-reverser provider Goodrich and International Aero Engines.

Read the original


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PR Newswire: Multiple Lawsuits Against TAM Airlines

Masry and Vititoe Partners, MIAMI, March 26 /PRNewswire/ PRESS RELEASE — Internationally recognized aviation attorneys Steven C. Marks and Ricardo M. Martinez-Cid with the Podhurst Orseck law firm have filed a series of lawsuits on behalf of families of passengers killed in Brazil’s worst airline disaster. On July 17, 2007, 199 people perished when TAM Airlines Flight 3054 slid off the runway at Congonhas Airport and slammed into an air cargo building in Sao Paulo. Today, Podhurst attorneys filed 59 wrongful death complaints related to the catastrophe in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

In addition to TAM NYSE: TAM, which is charged with its own negligence and that of its pilots and maintenance personnel, the defendants in the lawsuits are Pegasus Aviation IV, Inc.; Airbus S.A.S.; Airbus Industrie G.I.E. (EADS) (EAD.PA); Airbus Customer Services, Inc.; Goodrich Corporation NYSE: GR; and International Aero Engines AG.

“Responsibility not only lies with the companies that manufactured and handled maintenance for the aircraft,” said Marks, “We believe Airbus provided inadequate customer support, simulator services, and training materials for the pilots and flight crew that replicates the performance of the aircraft in all normal and abnormal conditions.”

Marks said it’s clear the flight crew knew there were problems with the aircraft before the disaster because the plane’s right thrust reverser had been deactivated before the flight.

“The thrust reverser is used to slow the jet down upon landing. Without an operational right thrust reverser, it didn’t have enough room to stop on the runway, ending in a horrific crash when the plane skidded off the runway’s edge,” he said.

Podhurst Orseck filed the first lawsuit related to the crash on behalf of the family of 35-year-old Ricardo Tazoe of Miami, an employee with Banco Santander. In all of the cases, the plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial to recover financial damages for pain and suffering; lost value of life; funeral expenses; and all other damages they may be entitled to under the law.

Marks and Martinez-Cid have extensive experience handling Brazilian aviation matters. They currently represent the families of numerous passengers who were killed when Gol Transportes Aeros Flight #1907 collided with an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet over the Amazon Rainforest in September 2006.

They have represented victims in countless significant major commercial airline crashes, including those killed in the crash of Comair Flight 5191 at the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky. in August 2006. Marks has acted as co-lead trial counsel for the California State Court plaintiffs after a Silk Air crash between Jakarta and Singapore in 1997 (successfully obtaining one of the most significant and largest verdicts in a mass disaster aviation case) and acting as lead liaison counsel for the state court and federal multi- district litigation plaintiffs’ steering committees over the ValuJet Flight 592 crash in Miami-Dade County in 1996.

Based in Miami, Podhurst Orseck, P.A. concentrates exclusively in trial and appellate litigation. The firm’s general tort practice places a major emphasis on aviation, automobile, products liability and medical malpractice litigation. In addition, the firm has a substantial practice in commercial, matrimonial and criminal litigation, as well as complex commercial tort litigation. Attorneys serve clients and corporations throughout the United States, and in many foreign countries. You can learn more about Podhurst Orseck by visiting the firm’s website at www.podhurst.com.


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Pleas for Brazil to Drop Criminal Investigation

Brazil’s air traffic control problem did not begin in July when a TAM Linhas Aereas SA Airbus crashed into a warehouse in Sao Paulo, killing 199 people. There was another crash the year before, a crash which led to a criminal investigation.

The criminal investigation relates to this event: the mid-air collision between a GOL Boeing 737-800 and an Embraer Legacy executive jet last year The Boeing crashed into the Amazon jungle, killing all 154 people onboard. The business jet landed safely.

The International Federation of Airline Pilots’ Associations claims that “The bottom line is they’ve got the cart in front of the horse on this. 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.”

IFALPA is asking the Brazilian government to suspend the legislative inquiry and the Justice Ministry to adjourn criminal proceedings.”

CRIMINAL CHARGES

Joseph Lepore of Bay Shore, New York, and Jan Paladino of Westhampton Beach, New York are the Legacy’s two American pilots. Additionally four Brazilian controllers face charges in the criminal case in connection with the accident.

The probe by Brazil’s air accident investigation body has yet to publish its findings.
The pilots’ association claims that “A Federal Police investigation running in parallel with the independent accident investigation … risks obscuring the benefits of a proper investigation.” The International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers also criticizes the police probe.

U.S. and Brazilian officials say the Legacy’s transponder and its collision-avoidance system were not functioning at the time of the crash, and that this went unnoticed by its American pilots. However, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration warns that pilots flying Embraer Legacy executive jets can accidentally switch off the transponder when placing their feet on a footrest under the instrument panel. The pilot’s left shoe can touch the switch controlling both instruments and accidentally switch them into “standby” mode.


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Latin Airports Plagued with Problems

Brazilian officials have yet to agree on exactly what caused a TAM airliner to skid off the rain-slicked runway at Congonhas on July 17, killing all 187 aboard and 12 on the ground. Critics claim the runway is too short and lacks grooves to prevent skidding during wet weather.

Mountains increase the risks at airports in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and Quito, Ecuador.

Birds pose problems at airports in Panama City; Guayaquil, Ecuador; and Barranquilla, Colombia. A single bird sucked into an engine can down a plane.

Six hundred vultures have closed Barranquilla’s airport for two hours daily since June 19, Illegal dumping by squatters around the airport attracts the birds.

Peter Cerda, a Miami-based specialist in air safety said, ”We don’t have any airport in the region that we consider to be unsafe, including Congonhas,”

Mexico City already has modernized approach and departure procedures, allowing airliners to shave a few minutes off flights, and it is getting a new terminal later this year that will increase gates from 33 to 59. But air traffic there will remain congested because the airport’s two runways are too close together to permit simultaneous use.

A similar plan in Brazil has yet to get under way.


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TAM Linhas Aéreas Crash on 17th July Airbus A320-233 Paulo, Brazil

TAM Flight 3054 was a regular flight from Porto Alegre, Brazil, to São Paulo-Congonhas, Brazil.

FACTS

  • The plane was carrying 181 passengers, all of whom died in the crash.
  • The plane was carrying 6 crewmembers, all of whom died in the crash.
  • The plane killed 11 people on the ground, all of whom died in the crash.
  • The Airbus A320 skid off the end of the rain-soaked runway cleared the airport fence and slammed into a TAM building.
  • A video shows the plane touching down then speeding up.
  • One of the Airbus 320’s two thrust reversers was deactivated.
  • Flying with only one thrust reverser is allowed and considered “safe”, but reduces braking power.

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Has Brazil Overcome its Aeronautic Crisis?

Three ANAC directors ( Denise Abreu, Jorge Luiz Veloso and Leur Lomanto) have resigned, leading ANAC ( Brazil’s National Civil Aeronautics Agency) to claim that the country’s aeronautic crisis has been overcome–a political move laying the blame of the entire system on the heads of three individuals.

President Lula told local radio that “problems still exist at the airports.” Statistics show that 11 percent of flights, 20 percent of which were canceled, were delayed during the holidays on Independence Day.

ANAC claims that problems began in Sept. 2006, when a GOL plane crashed in Mato Gross, killing 154, but the problem stems from a much earlier budget cut. The air disaster merely drew attention to the growing problem. The underfunded Brazilian air system has suffered from cutbacks and lowered standards across the board. Planes have been out of service for maintenance, and the airline Varig stopped flying.

When overworked traffic controllers stated their demands, a group of them was transferred from Air Defense to Civil Aviation.

After the TAM plane crash in July, killing 200 people, the Congonhas runway (known for its abbreviated length) in Sao Paulo was closed for resurfacing.

Replacements for Denise Abreu, Jorge Luiz Veloso and Leur Lomanto, have not been selected.


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Brazilian TAM to build air crash memorial at cargo service building

Brazilian TAM airlines said Sunday it is to build a memorial at the company’s cargo service building, nearly three weeks after an Airbus A320 belonging to the airline crashed into the site causing 199 deaths and heavy damage.


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Brazilians’ air traffic troubles

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Elnio Borges, who flies jets for Brazil’s Varig Airlines, says he becomes uncomfortable when he hears government officials here insist that there are no problems with the country’s air traffic control system.


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Brazilian controller won’t answer questions

Let me ask you, are the controllers going to be the fall guys for an insufficient and badly surfaced runway, out of service planes, an underbudgeted airport system and governmental corner cutting?

A Brazilian air traffic controller accused of making errors that led to that country’s most deadly plane crash last fall refused to answer questions about the crash during his criminal trial Tuesday. Click thru to read the article…


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Pilot Error Suspected

Sources Close to Probe Say Engine Wasn’t Idled

Authorities believe pilot error caused the tragedy. If confirmed, it would cast doubt that poor runway conditions were to blame.

Pilots had programmed the computerized engine controls — similar to a car’s cruise-control system — to maintain a speed of about 150 mph. When the plane was about 30 feet off the ground, the pilots correctly switched one of the engines to idle, but did not do so with the other engine. When the plane was braked, the second engine attempted to accelerate to maintain the preset speed.

One of the airplane’s thrust reversers, a device used to slow the aircraft, was broken but the manufacturer claims plane is safe to fly with a disabled reverser.

However, it has long been claimed that the short runway at Congonhas is unsafe in rainy conditions. The runway has been the site of problem landings before, and was even closed briefly this year, by court order.

Air traffic controllers fear that government officials will use reports of pilot error to excuse themselves from making further improvements to the air safety system.


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Brazil Air

“How many people will be killed before the Brazilian government stops the [air force’s] live experiments on the travelling public’s safety?” said Marc Baumgartner, the president of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers.

Brazil is rethinking its flight patterns

Across the country, frustrated passengers whose flights have been delayed or cancelled are rioting due to the long lines in Brazil’s airports. Underpaid and understaffed air traffic controllers are at the hub of a logistical nightmare. More than 10 government agencies oversee aviation.

Baumgartner accused the Brazilian government of “chasing scapegoats” among the Brazilian air traffic controllers instead of “re-engineering the necessary safety oversight and risk assessment to prevent Brazilian civil aviation from falling into deeper chaos.”

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva promised to get tough on safety and build a new airport in São Paulo to ease congestion. “Our aviation system, in spite of the investments we have made in the expansion and modernization of almost all Brazilian airports, is passing through difficulties.” To ease the pressure, several measures are planned like bans on charter, cargo and executive flights to Congonhas. The question is what pressure will such changes actually ease: the stressed airport system, or the government taking the heat for the stressed airport system?

Aviation experts say that the Airbus 320 that crashed at Congonhas was too large for the airport’s short runways, that the runway was not textured properly and part of the plane’s supplementary braking system was not working. Last February, a federal judge prohibited the landing large types of aircraft at the airport, including Fokker 100, Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737-700.

Carlos Gilberto Salvador Camacho, director of flight security for the National Union of Pilots, tokd a São Paulo newspaper last week. “There is subliminal pressure from the commercial airlines that if you don’t land there you are somehow hurting the companies that rely on their revenues from the passengers.”

“What exploded at Congonhas was not just the TAM jet and its almost 200 victims, but the credibility of the Brazilian system of civil aviation. Ten months ago, the country felt the impact of the worst disaster in its history of civil aviation, an incident which lifted the veil off the chaos in the industry, and we completely ignored it.” wrote Cezar Britto, the national president of the Order of Brazilian Lawyers after the Congonhas crash.


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Premature and Unfortunate Conclusions in Brazil

Local media tries to claim that pilot error was responsible for the airplane crash that killed nearly 200 people in Sao Paulo last week.

The news magazine VEJA said that a short runway and a constricted area that gave little room for victims to escape contributed to the accident.

The Brazilian air force said no conclusion had been reached.

It labelled as “premature and unfortunate” any conclusion about the accident, “as long as the investigations are ongoing.”

On July 17, a TAM airline Airbus 320 carrying 187 people overran the runway, crossed a road and slammed into an airport building.

The left turbine was thrust in reverse and was helping the airplane slow down, the right one was accelerating.

Key information has been obtained from the airplane’s black boxes.

The runway, which had been closed has now reopened Friday.


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Could It Be The Brakes

SAO PAULO Widespread claims of a faulty runway, potential pilot error or failure of the plane’s brakes? That is the question

Many officials and aviation experts blamed the rain-soaked runway where the plane skidded before crashing and exploding.

A video of the landing suggests other factors.

Footage shows the TAM Linhas Aereas plane accelerating instead of braking. Speculation is that the pilot was trying to lift off again.

“The government will try to convince public opinion that the runway at Congonhas is not at fault,” said Elnio Borges, president of the Varig Pilots’ Association. “They’re going to do everything they can to blame the pilot.”

Only 18 bodies have been identified. Four badly injured victims died in hospitals. At the TAM cargo building hit by the plane, eight people are missing.

The landing strip had not been grooved to drain rainwater.

“Why was Congonhas reopened in that state?” asked Paulo Sampaio, an aviation consultant at Multiplan Consultora in Rio de Janeiro. “It’s a crime.”

Infraero’s Pereira said “We have to clarify why the plane accelerated again,” he added. “Only the black box can tell us that.”

Air traffic controllers, fearing to be made scapegoats for that accident, have staged periodic work slowdowns to protest against deficient radar and radio equipment poor pay and hours. Delays and cancellations are routine. Passengers occasionally storm the airfields.


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Anger Mounts

Cezar Britto, president of The Order of Lawyers of Brazil said it was “a tragedy waiting to happen,” echoing public opinion. “What exploded in Cagonhas was not just the TAM airbus and almost 200 victims but the credibility of the Brazilian aviation system.”

Cagonhas is notorious for its short, dangerous runway.

“The runway was as slippery as soap,” a pilot confessed.

Rescuers pulled 181 bodies from the twisted metal wreckage and rubble. Five people are listed as missing. 11 are hospitalized. No passengers survived.

Relatives gathered to identify the remains amid calls for authorities to improve airport safety.

The crash is the latest of a series of airline disasters. The main runway had been resurfaced last month, but more work was scheduled to allow for better water drainage.

“Control tower operators had warned the runway should be closed,” said Sergio Olivera, who heads the Federation of Air Controllers.

Footage of landing showed the aircraft travelling at high speed–the Airbus took only three seconds as opposed to the usual 11 to traverse the runway then disappeared after skidding off the left side of the runway. Then a ball of flame filled the sky.

An investigation has been ordered. One of the black boxes has been recovered.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared three days of national mourning. Pope Benedict XVI expressed his sorrow.

In February a judge banned Fokker 100, Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737/700 jetliners from the airport but the ruling was overturned in appeals.


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Prosecutors calling for closure of Sao Paulo airport

Brazilian prosecutors call for the immediate closure of Sao Paulo’s airport today after the country’s worst air disaster in its history.

Governor Jose Serra declared that the volume of air traffic at Congonhas must to be drastically. A plane belonging to Brazil’s TAM airlinehit a nearby warehouse and exploded, killing 186 people on board and three on the ground.

Footage shows Flight 3054 accelerating as it hit the short runway. Authorities believe the pilot tried to abort his landing and take off again.

Rescue workers suspended the search for victims when the building at the crash scene threatened collapse. 4 Europeans, three from France and one from Portugal, were on board.

Pilots are instructed to touch down within the first 1,000ft (300m), or pull up and circle round again. Yesterday, another TAM airline jet was rerouted after coming in at an unsafe angle.

The official statement is that it is necessary to temporarily paralyze the activities at the Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo until a complete renovation of both of its runways can be completed and there is certainty that they are fully secure for full operations.

The senate leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSDB), Arthur Virgilio – whose colleague, the opposition leader Julio Redecker, was killed in the crash – said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, needed to “act, not to talk…Otherwise his term will be marked by the suffering and pain of so many Brazilians who could still be alive.”


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Brazil’s Call for Change: A320 Crash

One day after a TAM Airlines Airbus A320 crashed in Brazil, killing at least 189 people, the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations chimed in on Wednesday, “Runways around the world have inadequate overrun areas.”

The airbus was trying to land on a wet runway at Sao Paulo Cagonhas Airport, and when they were unable to stop, they took off again.

The airbus managed to clear the airport fence and a highway. However it crashed into a gas station and a building then exploded into flame.

IFALPA said, Runway-end safety areas should be established at all airports with airline operations, with an overrun space at least 800 feet long or an arrestor system that could halt an errant aircraft.

The 6,362-foot runway in question has often been criticized as being too short.


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BRAZIL’S WORST-EVER AIR DISASTER


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Photographer Alan Olivieri

BRAZIL’S WORST-EVER AIR DISASTER
200 Feared Dead in Sao Paulo Crash

At least 195 people were killed in Brazil’s worst plane crash, a product of a country with an inadequate air travel network that has been plagued by havoc.

Witness Paulo Carol imagined he was at the set of a Hollywood disaster film when right in front of his taxi, an airplane crossed six lanes of the Avenida Washington Luis. He and his passengers fled on foot.

Airbus A-320 operated by the Brazilian airline TAM, skidded off the runway after touching down and collided with cars and through a gas station before slamming into a TAM maintenance building. 180 deaths were passengers on the Airbus jet. Fifteen more deaths included Tam employees in the building.
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Luiz Santos who barely escaped the explosion, said “The airplane was coming right at me. I could hear the sound of the engines and then it exploded.” His windows and the back end of his truck were shattered, but Santos and his passenger escaped.

Flight JJ 3054 left Porto Alegre at 5:16 p.m. and landed at Congonhas two hours later. The plane apparently touched down too far down the runway.

Accidents have made flying in South America dangerous to contemplate. Flight controllers are overworked, underpaid and untrained, and rely on aging and defective radar technology in the Amazon.

In September, a Gol airlines Boeing 737 collided with a private jet over the Amazon, killing 154. That investigation is ongoing.

The country’s air travel infrastructure has been unable to keep up with Brazil’s fast economic growth.


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Brazilian Crash Prompts Probe on Airport Work

Projects intended To Improve Runway

BUENOS AIRES, July 18 — Brazil is planning to investigate if recent construction projects intended to improve runways at Congonhas contributed to the TAM crash, which killed at least 189.

Officials emphasized that it is too soon to determine a specific cause but the world’s worst air crash in five years, is the source of sadness and outrage in Brazil. Critics of Congonhas airport have long predicted an accident like Tuesday’s.

The Airbus 320, touched down and when the pilot realized he could not stop, he attempted to take off again, narrowly clearing an elevated roadway before crashing into a fuel station and cargo office. The capacity of the plane was 185 adults. The 186 people on board included a baby. The weight of the plane was within approved safety ranges. One day before the crash a small turboprop plane harmlessly slid off the same wet runway.

Rescue crews continued recovering bodies. Authorities confirmed all 186 fatalities aboard the plane. The number could rise. The “black box” recorder has been delivered to the United States for analysis.

The 6,362-foot runway at Congonhas is 500 feet shorter than the runway at Reagan National Airport, which is considered too short for large jet landings during rain. The newly repaved runway was scheduled to be grooved to channel rain. as standing water has caused delays in the past.

A congressional panel is already probing Brazil’s aviation security system. Accusations have been made that airport authorities have taken bribes. Federal police are investigating the airport construction projects.

The Sao Paulo attorney general’s office closed Congonhas runway to large jets. “The runway needs to be extended by 1,275 feet to provide adequate space to accommodate jetliners…The airport put at risk the lives of passengers, crew members and those living in the surrounding area due to the constant skidding caused by the inefficient drainage system.”

Responding to objections from airport and airline authorities, an appeals judge lifted the ban. The Airbus 320 was not among those planes that had been restricted from landing.

In Sao Paulo, South America’s largest city with a population of about 20 million, Congonhas airport is surrounded by densely populated commercial and residential neighborhoods. In 1996, a TAM flight crashed a mile from the runway, missing an elementary school.

Gideon Ewers said, “Runway excursions account for something like a quarter of accidents. Anytime you run off the runway and are confronted with a steep slope, a sheer drop, a four-lane highway and buildings, it’s not good.” Ewers is with the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations. The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations represents pilots from over 90 countries.

The federation urges authorities to add safety-strip extensions to the ends of runways or install “arrestor beds.”

Since 2000, there have been seven accidents in Sao Paulo resulting major damage to aircraft. Six occurred upon landing. A Gol Airlines jet collided with a small private plane over the Amazon rain forest, killing all 154 people abpard just ten months ago, but Tuesday’s crash is the deadliest in Brazil’s history.

A U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has an investigator at the scene to assist in the crash probe. Authorities will be combing the site, checking the runway slickness and the possiblility of pilot error. Former NTSB investigator Ron Schleede said. “Most runway-overrun accidents involve slick surfaces or planes going too fast to stop.” A Miami-based lawyer representing the families of 30 victims of the Gol crash, Ricardo Martinez-Cid said he has been contacted by attorneys for families in Tuesday’s disaster. Court actions could be filed after more evidence has been collected.

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