Pictured-A TAM Airbus A320-232 over Sao Paulo
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Bruno Pereira
What: Tam Linhas Aereas Airbus A320-200 en route from Rio de Janeiro Salvador Brazil
Where: Rio de Janeiro
When: Nov 30th 2009
Who: not available
Why: On takeoff, the plane struck a bird, evidenced by a “bang” emitting from an engine, which followed by engine issues. The plane landed safely and passengers were rerouted.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Tsuyoshi Hayasaki
What: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A320-200, registration PR-MBH performing flight JJ-3540 from Brasilia
to Manaus Brazil
Where: Manaus
When: Nov 5th 2009
Who: 155 passengers, 8 crew members
Why: When the flight got a low oil pressure indication, they shut down their left engine.
The flight landed safely in Manaus.
What: TAM Airbus flight en route from Florianópolis to Brasilia
Where: Hercilio Luz International Airport in Florianópolis
When: Thursday June 11
Who: Number of passengers was not released
Why: After the plane experienced electrical failure, the flight out of Hercilio Luz International Airport in Florianópolis was cancelled.
What: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A320-200 en route from Victoria to Sao Paulo Congonhas
Where: Campinas
When: May 27th 2009
Who: 100 passengers
Why: On approach to Congonhas, the plane’s communication with air traffic control was interrupted. Because of the interference, the plane diverted to Campinas where it made a safe landing.
Brazil has a history of problems with reception in areas of the Amazon; but in this case, in Sao Paulo, the radio problems caused several flights to be diverted.
Contact photographer SkyMember
Pictured: flight 8095
Contact photographer Jerome Mervelet
Pictured: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A330-200 registration PT-MVN
What: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A330-200 en route from Miami,FL (USA) to Sao Paulo
Where: Sao Paulo
When: May 25 2009
Who: 154 passengers
Why: On approach to Sao Paulo, the flight experienced turbulence. Fasten seat belt signs were illuminated about 20 minutes before landing–Some passengers struck the ceiling.
Thirteen were treated at the airport; eight were taken to the hospital. No mention is made of any injuries to crew members
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Photographer Normando Carvalho Jr
What: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A330-200 en route from Miami, FL to Sao Paulo Brazil
Where: en route to Sao Paulo
When: May 21st 2009
Who: not listed
Why: While in flight, the flight crew observed a drop of the outside temperature and recorded seeing St. Elmo’s Fire. They lost the air data reference system. Autopilot and autothrust system disconnected, and fly by wire switched to alternate law (and remained in alternate law for the remainder of the flight.)
Rudder travel limiter was deactived and airspeed and altitude indication was lost.
Standby instrumentation allowed data restoration in under ten minutes.
George’s Point of View
What: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A320 Flight JJ3054
Where: Sao Paulo Brazil Congonhas airport
When: July 17, 2007
Who: 199 fatalities
Why: Sao Paulo Institute of Criminology 16-month investigation places blame on government agencies for failing to ensure runway safety. Government failure to set rainy-day landing rules for the short runway whose new surface had not yet been grooved to drain rainwater.
NTSB Factual
NTSB Identification: DCA07RA059
Scheduled 14 CFR operation of TAM Linhas Aéreas
Accident occurred Tuesday, July 17, 2007 in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Aircraft: Airbus Industrie A320-233, registration: PR-MBK
Injuries: 199 Fatal.
On July 17, 2007, at 21:54 UTC, an Airbus A320-233, Brazilian registration PTMBK, serial number 789, operated by TAM Linhas Aéreas overran the end of runway 35 at the Sao Paulo Congonhas airport upon landing. The airplane was on a scheduled domestic flight from Porto Alegre, Brazil. The airplane departed the runway to the left side near the departure end and crossed over a road prior to impacting a cargo depot and gas station. The end of the runway is on elevated terrain approximately 80 meters above the surface of the road. The 6 crew members, 162 passengers, and 18 persons on the ground suffered fatal injuries. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and fire.
Friday, October 31 2008
It has been 12 years since 99 people died in the Tam Congonhas Fokker-100 accident.
On October 31 1996. TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 set off for Rio De Janeiro and fell to earth minutes after take-off from Congonhas airport, spreading destruction on two building and seven houses, killing 99 people: 90 passengers, six members of the crew and three people on the street.
Inquiries of TAM and Fokker, (the company who manufactured the airplane) concluded that a malfunctioning relay caused he opening of the right reverser. In December 1997, the Aeronautics Report found TAM guilty and made Fokker responsible for imperfections in the airplane.
According to the Center of Inquiry and Prevention of Air Accidents (Cenipa) Report, during take-off, the reverser of the right engine of the Fokker-100 opened, and without any alarm, was set in motion, catching by surprise a crew in the command cabin that never was trained for this situation.
The report disclosed that on 28 of June 1995, the Fokker sent a letter claiming it was not necessary to train pilots for this type of emergency because it was impossible for the Fokker reverser to open during take-off.
The report says that a system changed altered the probability of imperfection in the system to one in ten million from one in a million.
One another factor helped to knock down the airplane: the contacts of a relay (controlling of electric circuits) that should have set in motion the alarm system. This relay, according to Douglas colonel Axe, head of the Cenipa, was found 13 days after the accident.
The human error that was the consequence of these other two situations: the lack of information on pane, caused by the burnt relay, and the lack of training for the situation by the manufacturer of the aircraft. According to report, the pilots had not followed basic recommendations.
According to colonel Axe, the pilots could have gained time if they had allowed the airplane to go up to stabilize, without “forcing the engine in pane because of the reverse.”
The Cenipa said that the only acknowledgment that the pilots had of the opening of the reverser was the brusque jib of the manual acceleration of the aircraft, then later when the airplane left the soil, the landing gear.
A computer animation showed how the pilots acted in a desperate attempt to discover what was occurring.
The tragedy timeline:
8h26m: The control tower authorizes the airplane to take off.
29 seconds: The airplane runs about 90 kilometers per minute in the track.
55 seconds: The airplane raises in flight. The reverse of right turbine opens and closes for the first time, without the pilot perceiving it.
70 seconds: The reverser opens for the third time and it does not close.
74 seconds: The Fokker stick starts to tremble and the airplane loses height.
79 seconds: The Fokker inclines to the right, the wing striking a three story building . The airplane blows up. Ninety and nine people die.
8h27m.
Postado for Jorge Tadeu Da Silva
Apologies for any errors in translation
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.
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.
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.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)–Relatives of victims of Brazil’s Tam Air CRASH filed suit in Miami seeking damages in 59 wrongful death complaints. Plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial for pain and suffering, lost value of life, funeral expenses and other damages. The TAM Airlines Flight 3054 crash killed 199 people. Masry and Vititoe’s partner Podhurst Orseck filed the first case ten days after the accident occurred.
Charged are TAM S.A. (TAM), its pilots and maintenance personnel, France-based Airbus; Goodrich Corp. ( GR) of Charlotte, North Carolina; International Aero Engines AG of East Hartford, Connecticut; and Pegasus Aviation IV Inc. of Delaware. The thrust reverser slows the jet down when it lands. Without a working right thrust reverser, it didn’t have enough room to stop on the runway, he said.
Atty Steven C. Marks said.”Responsibility not only lies with the companies that manufactured and handled maintenance for the aircraft,” and that 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.
Brazil’s largest airline, was trying to reach agreements with families of victims and did not have an immediate comment.
src: Dow Jones Newswires; South Florida Lawyers blog
Here is where the disaster stands:
On July 17, 2007 the pilot of TAM Airlines Flight JJ3054, tried to land at Congonhas, but realizing he wouldn’t be able to stop in time on the rain-slicked tarmac, tried to take off again.
He failed.
The Airbus A320 skidded across a road and smashed into a building owned by the airline. The ensuing fireball killed all 186 people on the plane and 13 more on the ground, making this the worst air disaster in Brazilian history.
The thrust reverser had been deactivated during maintenance checks, the airline confessed. The reverser is used to help jets slow down on landing. Tam Airlines insists the deactivation was in accordance with proper procedures. However, nearly 200 people–passengers and crew–are dead.
Brazil’s Globo TV televised that a problem with the right thrust reverser had emerged four days prior to the crash.
The Airbus’s manual stipulates that ten days can lapse after a problem is first detected in an inspection and the plane can continue to operate in the meantime.
Aviators call São Paolo’s Congonhas Airport “the aircraft carrier,” because landing on its short runway, surrounded by densely populated residential areas, is like landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Though a Brazilian court had banned large jets from the airport in February, citing safety concerns, the ban was later overturned.
Masry and Vititoe is participating in the litigation.
This photograph was produced by Agência Brasil, a public Brazilian news agency.Their website states: “O conteúdo deste site é publicado sob a licença Creative Commons Atribuição 2.5 Brasil”(This photo is published under the Creative Commons License Attribution 2.5 Brazil)
The thrust reverser had been deactivated during maintenance checks, the airline confessed.
The reverser is used to help jets slow down on landing.
Tam Airlines insisted the deactivation was in accordance with proper procedures. However, nearly 200 people–passengers and crew–are dead.
Yet this was in accordance with proper procedures?
The airbus started to land at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport, and either aborted the landing or failed to slow down when the deactivated thrust reverser failed. The plane crossed the street, hit buildings and exploded.
Tam Airlines said the right thrust reverser was “deactivated” at the time of the accident. To quote them specifically:
“in conditions stipulated by the maintenance of the manufacturer Airbus and approved by [Brazil’s] National Civil Aviation Agency”.
Brazil’s Globo TV televised that a problem with the right thrust reverser had emerged four days prior to the crash.
The Airbus’s manual stipulates that ten days can lapse after a problem is first detected in an inspection and the plane can continue to operate in the meantime.
sources: http://news.bbc.co.uk
http://www.aviation.com/ap_070721_thrustreverser.html
The Tam Air Crash in Sao Paulo has made a top ten disaster list.
#2. Brazil Plane Crash – Aviators call São Paolo’s Congonhas Airport “the aircraft carrier,” because landing on its notoriously short runway, surrounded by densely populated residential areas, is as touchy as trying to put down on the deck of a ship at sea. Though a Brazilian court had banned large jets from the airport in February, citing safety concerns, the ban was later overturned. On July 17, the pilot of TAM Airlines Flight JJ3054, tried to land at Congonhas, but realizing he wouldn’t be able to stop in time on the rain-slicked tarmac, tried to take off again. He failed. The Airbus A320 skidded across a road, smashed into a gas station and then into a building owned by the airline. The ensuing fireball killed all 186 people on the plane and 13 more on the ground, making this the worst air disaster in Brazilian history.
SAO PAULO, Nov 28 (Reuters) -TAM, Brazil’s largest airline appointed David Barioni Neto as its chief executive, replacing Marco Antonio Bologna, who stepped down following disaster after disaster over the past year. Though Bologna resigned, he remains a special adviser to TAM’s controlling shareholders, the airline said in a statement.
TAM hired Barioni Neto in September from rival Gol Linhas Aereas
São Paulo-based BRA suspended all operations as it struggles to find financing. Currently Brazil is left with TAM and Gol/Varig, both of which have had their own issues.
Reali Taxi Aero’s small executive Learjet 35 took off in the rain at 14:10 local from Campo de Marte Airport in Sao Paulo and crashed into a house in the Casa Verde neighborhood half a kilometre from the runway after taking off. Eight people died; the bodies of four men, three women and a baby were found in the plane wreckage.
Three others were rescued, including Claudia Lima Fernandes, 30,who was badly burned, and an 11 year old girl.
Other neighborhood houses had to be evacuated and are being evaluated for safety.
Witnesses said that the jet, which took off from Campo de Marte for Rio de Janeiro, ploughed nose first into the houses when it seemed to attempt a return to the airport.
This was Sao Paulo’s second large air tragedy this year. On July 17, a TAM Airbus crashed while landing at the Congonhas airport, killing 199 people.
São Paulo is known for its large helicopter fleet. Businessmen often fly the vast city by helicopter to avoid traffic and security threats .However last Monday three helicopters crashed in Sao Paulo in two hours.
Three people died. Five days earlier, after having mechanical problems, an air force plane crashed north of Sao Paulo, There were no casualties.
Fifa, football’s world governing body has awarded the 2014 tournament to Brazil–a brave move, considering that Brazil’s justice ministry has recorded 150 murders per day in Brazil, and the state of Brazil’s aviation industry is less than stellar.
Currently it only takes a brief thunderstorm in Sao Paulo to knock out Brazil’s domestic air system. Congonhas airport must shut during storms, which has a domino effect.
Two major crashes occurred in the past 13 months:
Gol-In September last year- 155 people died when a Boeing 737-800 operated by domestic company Gol collided with an executive jet
Tam-In July,- 187 people were killed when an Airbus A320 overshot the runway at Congonhas.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is quoted as saying “Our aviation system, in spite of the investments we have made in expansion and modernisation, is passing through difficulties.”
An overland journey from Rio de Janeiro to Manaus takes 60 hours on a bus to Belem, followed by several days on a boat down the Amazon river. There is no astrobus.
Just before TAM Airlines Flight 3054 skidded off a runway and exploded as it slammed into a building, pilots screamed, “Slow down!†and “Turn, turn, turn!†as recorded by flight recorder transcripts disclosed Wednesday.
If the congressional commission investigating air safety find that mechanical failure or pilot error contributed to the accident in São Paulo, that conclusion would take some heat off a government widely blamed for failing to improve the challenging runway. Pilots worldwide liken landing on it to landing on an aircraft carrier.
According to the tapes, pilots were unable to activate the spoilers, aerodynamic brakes on the Airbus A320’s wings, as they touched down on the short, rain-slicked runway at Congonhas airport, according to the transcripts.
The pilot, Kleyber Lima, 54, said “Only one reverser — spoiler nothing,†in the transcript, the first indication that something was wrong. The co-pilot, Henrique Stephanini Di Sacco, 54, says: “Look at that. Slow down, slow down.†Mr. Lima replies: “I can’t. I can’t. Oh my God! Oh my God!†Mr. Di Sacco’s last words are: “Go! Go! Turn! Turn! Turn!â€
The recording ends with screams and a woman’s voice, followed by an explosion.
The July 17 crash killed all 187 people aboard the jetliner and 12 people on the ground.
One of the two thrust reversers used to slow planes during landings, was inoperative. The airport’s runway is so short that pilots are warned to abort landings if they make any errors while touching down. TAM’s press office declined comment until the investigation is finished.
Airbus spokeswoman, Barbara Kracht, said the aircraft manufacturer could not comment on the investigation, citing international aviation rules.
Defense Minister Nelson Jobim announced plans to for an escape area at the end of the notorious Congonhas runway and limits on operations in wet conditions.
Proposed rules would restrict destinations to a 620-mile radius of the Congonhas airport; it would also bar connecting flights
Plans include limiting the number of passengers, and restricting takeoffs/landings to 33 hourly, and cutting passenger capacity from 5,100 per hour to 4,700.
Operations at Brazil’s busiest airport were reviewed after an airliner ran off the runway and crashed into a building on July 17, the deadliest air accident in the country’s history. The 620-mile limit would eliminate tourist destinations in the northeast. One wonders if they are deliberately targeting the American market.
For Immediate Release
Sept 20, 2007
SAO PAULO, Brazil-Brazil’s civil aviation regulator proposed restricting flights at the nation’s busiest airport on Thursday, hoping to improve safety at the site of the nation’s deadliest plane crash.
The rules proposed by the Civil Aviation Authority would restrict destinations to a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) radius of the Congonhas airport and would bar connecting flights from the airport.
The Defense Ministry will now assess the report, and Defense Minister Nelson Jobim announced separately that authorities will decide within one month the precise location for construction of a third runway at Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos airport.
Guarulhos handled mostly international flights before the July 17 crash at Congonhas, but many domestic flights were transferred there after the crash, prompting officials to revive a long dormant plan for the extra runway.
As many as 5,000 families living near Guarulhos may have to be relocated to make way for the runway, depending on the location selected, Brazil’s Agencia Estado news service said.
The proposals grow out of a review of operations at Congonhas following the crash in which a TAM airliner ran off the runway and slammed into a building two months ago, killing 199 people.
Officials have not determined a cause, but many experts have said that Congonhas’ main runway is too short and that the airport _ Brazil’s busiest _ handles far too many flights.
The 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) limit would let airlines fly to key destinations such as Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and cities in southern Brazil, but not to tourist destinations in the northeast.
TAM Linhas Aeras SA and Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes _ Brazil’s two largest airlines _ previously used Congonhas as a major hub, but are now reorganizing operations.
The regulators also proposed limiting the number of passengers aboard flights, and restricting takeoffs and landings to 33 per hour at Congonhas, cutting overall passenger capacity at the airport to 4,700 per hour from 5,100 per hour.
Jobim, whose ministry oversees Brazilian civil aviation, earlier announced plans to for an escape area at the end of the runway and limits on operations in wet conditions.
Perth expatriate Robert Borland, 48, survived Sunday’s crash of discount airline One-Two-Go when it slid off the runway and burst into flames on the island resort of Phuket. Borland’s family wants to find the man who rescued him from the burning plane. 89 passengers and crew were killed, and 41 injured. 57 of the injured were foreigners. Forensic police have now identified 21 of the foreign victims Civil aviation officials have said the pilot had received permission to abort the landing at the last minute.
There were no survivors of the Tam Airbus crush on July 18. All 186 people aboard the ill-fated Brazilian TAM flight 3054 died in a fiery crash in Sao Paulo. Thirteen people on the ground also were killed. The Airbus 320 careened off the notoriously short runway upon landing at Sao Paulo’s Cagonhas airport, skidded across a crowded avenue and slammed into a warehouse where it burst into flames.
Though nearly 1.5 million dollars in indemnities to families of victims, only one case has settled. Other of the Tam Air cases are in negotiation. Counselling treatment and funeral costs are also expected to be covered.