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Fri, Dec 08, 2006

US Pilots Lepore And Paladino Charged Before Leaving Brazil

ExcelAire Pilots Face Possible Prison Term

ANN REALTIME REPORTING 12.08.06 1600 EST: Brazil's federal police today charged two US pilots involved in a mid-air collision last September suspected of bringing down a Gol Airlines 737 in the Amazon jungle.

Just this week a federal judge in the country agreed to return Joseph Lepore's and Jan Paladino's passports allowing the pair to return home for the first time since the September 29 accident. The two have been holed up in a Rio de Janiero hotel.

Lepore and Paladino were questioned by police for six hours after showing at headquarters to make official statements. Police charged them with endangering air safety, then gave them their passports and permission to leave the country. Both were warned they must return for their trials.

Neither officially replied to the police regarding the charges saying they would speak in court. Both avoided the media after leaving police headquarters.

The surprise move by Brazilian police comes just as several international aviation groups lauded the decision to return the pair's passports and allow them to return to the US. Ironically, the statement urged the Brazilian government to remove criminality in accident investigations.

The investigation of the crash continues under a pall of uncertainty as contending political groups point fingers. The head of Brazil's police has accused the Brazilian air force, responsible for air traffic control, of withholding evidence while the air force has contended the two US pilots were flying at the wrong altitude with their transponder off.

Lepore and Paladino were delivering a new Embraer Legacy 600 jet to the US for use by their employer ExcelAire. Early press reports in Brazil speculated they had turned off the jet's transponder so they might explore its performance envelope while avoiding ATC observation.

Both have denied any wrongdoing. The pair maintain through their lawyers they were following ATC instructions and all applicable Brazilian and international aviation rules.

If Lepore and Paladino are found to have acted intentionally to endanger air safety by the courts in Brazil they could face up to 12 years in prison.

FMI: www.brasilemb.org

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