Thu, Nov 09, 2006
ExcelAire, the operator
of a bizjet involved in the tragic Gol midair, tells ANN that
"Civil lawsuits filed or to be filed this week arising from that
accident are premature, given that the facts surrounding the
accident have not yet been fully investigated and established in a
comprehensive accident investigation, according to Robert
Torricella, a Miami-based aviation attorney representing the
ExcelAire pilots.
"In the face of recent confirmations that air traffic control
cleared and directed the ExcelAire Legacy Jet to fly to Manaus at
37,000 feet, repeated suggestions that ExcelAire's pilots were
flying at the wrong altitude are baseless," said Torricella.
"According to international aviation regulations and norms, air
traffic control directives take precedence over a written flight
plan and those directives effectively amend the written flight
plan. It is the flight plan cleared by air traffic control at the
time of departure--and not the prior written flight plan--that
governs the conduct of the flight."
He added, "Here, the flight plan cleared by air traffic control
at the time of departure required the Legacy to fly all the way to
Manaus at 37,000 feet and, absent contrary directives from air
traffic control, the Legacy was obligated to follow its cleared
flight plan. As the findings of the investigation are made public,
we are confident that ExcelAire's pilots will be exonerated."
ExcelAire, based in Ronkonkoma, NY, specializes in business jets
and aircraft management and has pledged its full cooperation in the
investigations currently underway in Brazil. The ExcelAire pilots
have been detained in Brazil for more than five weeks as
authorities continue the confiscation of their passports in
connection with investigations that the authorities have described
as being paralyzed.
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