Gol Midair Tragedy Continues In The Courts
Even as US Pilots Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino and four Brazilian
Controllers were indicted Friday by a Brazilian judge on
manslaughter-related charges, the chief of the Brazilian Supreme
Court (STF), told the president and the reporter of the Air
Blackout Congressional Inquiry that Brazil's justice system has no
means to compel the American pilots to travel their to testify
before the congressional committee, reported Brazil Magazine.
The indictments stem from the September 2006 midair collision of
a Embraer Legacy 600 jet with a Gol Airlines 737 that killed154
people. It was Brazil's worst air accident ever; the two pilots and
the five passengers aboard the smaller jet were able to land safely
in a Brazilian Air Force base airport.
The congressional inquiry is probing not only the Boeing tragedy
but the whole Brazilian air transportation system, which went into
a "state of chaos" on several occasions since the 2006 plane
accident over the Amazon.
According to Brazilian Supreme Court Chief Ellen Gracie
Northfleet, the cooperation agreement on penal matters between
Brazil and the US does not give the congressional committee the
right to summon Americans to testify in Brazil.
"This is our main problem at the moment," complained House
Representative Marco Maia. "From a juridical point of view and from
the agreements signed by Brazil with other countries, we have no
guarantee that we can indeed hear the pilots."
The Supreme Chief suggested
that the congressmen appeal to the Foreign Ministry of the
Brazilian embassy in Washington to convince Lepore and Paladino to
travel to Brazil. Should that fail, the inquiry committee will try
to fly to the US to get the American pilots testimony. Yet another
option would be to question them via videoconferencing.
As ANN reported last
Friday, Brazilian federal judge Murilo Mendes indicted the two
Americans for involuntary manslaughter. Four Brazilian air
controllers, all of them Air Force sergeants and all working at
Brasília's air control center, were also indicted by the
same judge.
While three of the flight controllers are being charged with
involuntary manslaughter, one is being accused of intentional
manslaughter.
Judge Mendes determined that the pilots would be interrogated on
August 27 and made it clear that they would have to travel to
Brazil for that "not being allowed that the act occur at their
native country - the United States."
The penalty for involuntary manslaughter is one to three years
in jail, but aggravating factors might lead to up to six years in
prison. For willful manslaughter, as one air controller is charged,
the penalty can vary from 8 to 24 years of detention.
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