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    Reali Taxi Aerea responsible for 8 More Dead

    The Learjet 35 that crashed on November 4 in São Paulo, Brazil, is responsible for the death of at least eight people. The São Paulo-based Reali Taxi Aerea Learjet was attempting to return to Campo do Marte Airport just after takeoff in light rain. It slammed nose first into a suburban neighborhood. The deceased include the pilot, copilot and at least six people in the residential neighborhood.

    The head of Brazil’s National Civilian Aviation Agency, Milton Zuanazzi, resigned in October after two recent aviation accidents: the July crash of a TAM Airbus at Congonhas Airport and the September 2006 midair between a Gol Airlines Boeing 737 and an Embraer Legacy 600.

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    David Barioni Neto CEO

    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

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    Brazil’s Turbulent Airline Biz

    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.

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    8 Dead in New Crash

    Officials of Reali were not immediately available for comment on the crash of the Learjet 35 on Sunday. It was raining at the time, but not badly; the cause of the crash is unknown.

    The private jet can carry up to 10 passengers. The first three victims identified were not passengers.

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    Sao Paulo Crash Sunday Nov 4

    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.

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    Chairman Resigns!

    At a press conference Oct 31 in Brasília, Board Chairman Milton Zuanazzi, the last remaining member of ANAC’s former board of directors of the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) announced his resignation from the board.

    Zuanazz based his decision on claims that the National Civil Aviation Agency was the “scapegoat” for Brazil’s current air crisis.

    He said publicly that he “would not like to work” with Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, a position which is certainly understandable since Jobim has been trying to remove him since July.

    He delayed his resignation to the current time to allow Jobim to find new directors. Zuanazzi says that Jobim is not well-informed about Brazil’s aviation system, and classifies some of his proposals as “reckless.” The last straw was Defense Minister Nelson Jobim’s proposal to increase the required distance between airplane seats. Doing so would force carriers to raise fares, Zuanazzi said.

    One wonders how raising the distance between airplane seats will increase the safety factor, which is at the root of the whole aviation problem in Brazil.

    Zuanazz recommends Civil Aviation Secretary Solange Paiva Vieira to be his replacement.

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    Tam Air Threatens Football’s Future

    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.

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    Tam: Business as usual?

    With July’s fatal crash and a year of turmoil in the Brazilian airline sector, it has been a tough year for Brazil’s TAM Linhas Aéreas. Following months of air traffic controller strikes, airport delays and flight cancellations, one of Tam’s Airbus A320s overran the runway at São Paulo Congonhas airport in a catastrophe that claimed 199 lives.

    TAM president Marco Antonio Bologna has been feeling the brunt of Brazil’s favorite blame game: “who is responsible?” Bologna is reluctant to discuss the accident other than to describe the measures taken by TAM to assist the victims’ families.

    What did cause the crash?

    Brazil’s aviation industry continues on in a climate of fear and mistrust.

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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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    Gol Linhas Aereas Buyback Under Consideration

    The Tam Air crash revealed defects in Brazil’s civil aviation system. The system has been stressed subsequent to air traffic controller strikes and work slowdowns that have been causing mass delays and cancellations and damaged Brazilian airlines.

    Gol Linhas Aereas Intelligentes SA shares dropped since Brazil’s deadliest air accident in July, when theTAM passenger jet crashed in Sao Paulo and killed 199 people.

    Following the crash, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva responded to pressure by firing the defense minister in charge of civil aviation, and the government is imposing a plan to reduce air traffic at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport, the site of the crash and the nation’s busiest airport.

    The family-run fund that controls the company announced it is considering a share buyback.

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    Gol Goes On and On

    According to Brazil’s Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, critics are “playing politics” when they disparage the state of Brazil’s aviation industry, in which occured in the past year, the crash of a Gol jetliner over the Amazon in which 154 people died, and July’s disaster when an Airbus crashed into a warehouse in Sao Paulo killing 199 people.

    Nevertheless, during a seminar in the United States, the President of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers, Marc Baumgartner criticized the Brazilian Air Force which oversees Brazil’s air traffic control system for trying to punish the controllers. “The Brazilian Air Force invested lots of energy to arrest and prosecute its own workers but none to fix its (air traffic control) system.” He also said that “it’s a question of time before a new air accident happens again in Brazil.”

    So far, a military court has declined to indict five Brazilian air traffic controllers for the GOL crash. Two American pilots face charges in a civilian criminal court in connection with the same crash. A Congressional commission report supports the indictment of pilots Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino.

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    Flight Recorder Details Heard

    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!”

    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.

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    Proposed Brazilian Airline Restrictions

    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.

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    Brazil Regulator Proposes Restrictions

    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.

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    One Two Go Disaster

    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.

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    1.5 Million paid

    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 TAM announced Saturday it has paid nearly 1.5 million dollars in indemnities to families of victims, as of Thursday, only one case has settled.

    Ninety-nine victim’s relatives were indemnified, at 30,000 reales per victim, for a total of nearly three million reales.

    Food and lodging expenses for families who traveled to the Sao Paulo airport in the days after th crash of flight 3054, as well as psychological treatment and funeral costs were also defrayed by the airline.

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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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    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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    How the Airbus Brakes

    An A320 gets three devices to brake

    Interested in more about the Airbus? Airbus Flight Crew Training Manual.pdf

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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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    TAM AIRBUS Thrust Reverser ‘OFF’

    Tam Airlines admits a thrust reverser had been deactivated during maintenance checks.

    Tam Airlines insists the deactivation was in accordance with accepted procedures. Thrust reversers assist jets to slow down on landing.

    The Tam Airlines’ Airbus 320 overshot the runway at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport, hit buildings and exploded. Speculation continues but there is no confirmation on the crash’s cause. The same plane had problems landing at Congonhas a day prior the crash when it had barely managed to stop at the limit of the runway. The report said that the pilot told air traffic controllers it was very slippery.

    The right thrust reverser was “deactivated” at the time of the accident “in conditions stipulated by the maintenance of the manufacturer Airbus and approved by [Brazil’s] National Civil Aviation Agency” according to Tam Airlines. The Airbus’s manual says an inspection can be done up to 10 days after it is first detected and that the plane can continue to operate in the meantime.

    The crash occurred in wet conditions runway that has been criticized as being too short, and whose new surface had not yet been properly surfaced to handle rain.

    Video footage shows a few final moments of the Tam Airlines flight, and a similar plane that had arrived earlier. The Tam plane appears to be traveling at a higher than normal speed.The first aircraft apparently takes eleven seconds to travel along the visible section, while the plane that crashed covers the same distance in three. The Airbus 320 jet appears to continue speeding along the runway without slowing, before disappearing out of view. The flash of an explosion is then seen.

    The Brazilian air force believes the footage shows the plane was traveling at excessive speed, according to Globo TV. One theory speculates that the pilot tried to take off again. Instead, the aircraft crossed the road and ploughed into a Tam Airlines building.

    Brig Jorge Kersul Filho, director of the Air Force’s Centre for Investigation and Prevention of Air Accidents, said, “”That he jumped over the avenue was an indication he tried to take off. If he didn’t [try to take off] he would have gone nose down at the end of the runway.”

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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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    TAM to delay expansion plans due to Brazil’s civil aviation chaos

    TAM Linhas Aereas has postponed plans to increase its fleet of Airbus jets from 2008 to 2011 allegedly because of a drop in demand for domestic air travel.

    It will cut demand for narrow-body Airbus jets by five planes a year. Previous plans included 103 narrow-body jets in 2008, 106 in 2009, 112 in 2010 and 115 in 2011.

    Brazil’s Aviation Industry has been in crisis for the past year due to overcrowding, air traffic controller strikes and massive delays, not to mention suffering from the consequences of the Sao Paolo air crash. A TAM Airbus 320 crashed at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport in July, killing 199 people. This crash at Brazil’s busiest domestic airport led the government to review use of the airport.

    It currently flies to Paris, London and Milan in Europe and New York and Miami. TAM plans to leave international flights unchanged. It plans to start flights to Frankfurt from November 30 and to start daily flights to Madrid by December. TAM said it is sticking to its forecast of a 10 to 15% rise in domestic demand in 2007.

    TAM has orders for 51 narrow-bodied Airbus jets, which include the A319, A320 and A321, and orders for 10 A330 planes through 2011. It had ordered four additional Boeing 777-300ER planes worth 1 billion US dollars. Boeing said TAM was the first Latin American airline to add the long-range jetliner to its fleet.

    The new planes will help the company save fuel and increase its presence in the international market. It is set to receive its first of the planes in June 2008.

    The competition, GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, has a reduced fleet plan this year.

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