Authorities Haven't Verified Report
A Brazilian newspaper says it has proof the two pilots flying an
Embraer business jet that collided with a Gol Airlines 737 in
September... were following ATC instructions to fly at the same
altitude as the airliner.
The Folha de Sao Paolo newspaper reports that according to
cockpit voice tapes from the business jet, controllers told that
plane's crew to maintain 37,000 feet as they flew north to
Manaus... and on an intercept course with the 737, heading south
towards the capital of Brasilia.
As Aero-News reported, the
Legacy 600 business jet was able to land safely following the
collision... but the 737 crashed in the Amazon, killing all 154
people onboard.
If the Folha report is true -- and officials with the Brazilian
Defense Ministry, which is conducting the official investigation,
haven't verified that -- the news may exonerate pilots Joe Lepore
and Jan Paladino. The two American pilots had their passports
taken away and were told to stay in Brazil in the aftermath of the
crash, pending possible criminal charges.
There's also the question... why would controllers assign an
odd-number altitude, to a plane flying on a northwesterly heading?
That contradicts the pilots' flight plan, as well as international
airspace rules that assign odd-number altitudes to planes flying on
headings between 0 and 179 degrees.
But ATC clearances overrule those guidelines.
"As we've maintained from the beginning, the pilots were cleared
to Manaus for flight at three-seven-zero at the time of departure,
and we're confident that anyone that is able to hear the tower
tapes or see a transcript of the instructions issued by the Sao
Jose tower will hear the exact the same thing," attorney Robert
Torricella told The Associated Press.
Torricella -- who represents New York's ExcelAire, the owner of
the Legacy 600 -- also called on Brazilian investigators to suspend
the criminal probe against the two pilots until the accident
investigation allows for "frank disclosure of all the facts." He
also asked that Lepore and Paladino be allowed to return to the
US.
"It is unreasonable to expect them to remain here, essentially
under confinement, while what could be a lengthy accident
investigation continues," he said.
In related news, a work slowdown by Brazilian air traffic
controllers has led to numerous flight delays across Brazil. The
controllers say their facilities are understaffed, underpaid, and
overworked... despite growing air traffic over that country.
That sounds familiar...