Analysts Say Departure Could Pave Way For More To Follow

A third senior official in the Brazilian aviation authority ANAC tendered a resignation last week since the country's worst air disaster heightened concerns about the overall safety of air travel in the country.

Denise Abreu, ANAC's director of customer relations and aviation services, turned in her resignation letter to Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, said her spokesperson, Reuters reported.

Abreu reportedly became the target of public outrage when she was photographed at a party smoking a cigar, just days after 154 people were killed when an Embraer Legacy bizjet collided with a Gol airlines jet in mid-air last September.

Analysts are predicting her departure could open the doors for other directors to follow. Critics have long charged President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of having appointed friends to high ranking posts within the aviation authority rather than people actually knowledgeable and trained in aviation, according to Reuters.

Abreu said she was leaving for personal reasons. As ANN reported, the beleaguered Brazilian President fired Defense Minister Waldir Pires on July 25, and replaced him with former Supreme Court Chief Justice Nelson Jobim.

Then, Reuters reported Jose Carlos Pereira, the head of Infraero, Brazil's airports authority, was replaced by Sergio Gaudenzi, the head of the Brazilian Space Agency.

Legislators investigating Brazil's aviation crisis have accused ANAC of allowing far too many flights to depart and land at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport, where the TAM A320 skidded off a rain-slicked runway and into a gas station, killing 199 people.

FMI: www.anac.gov.br, www.infraero.gov.br/usa, www.tam.com.br