Aircraft

Pilots representatives are furious over the Brazilian federal police recommendation to charge the pilots of the corporate jet involved in last September’s fatal mid-air collision over the Amazon.

The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations says it is “outraged” over the recommendation which follows a judicial investigation into the Embraer Legacy jet’s collision with a Gol Boeing 737-800.

All 154 passengers and crew members on board the 737 lost their lives in the accident; the Legacy subsequently landed safely after suffering structural damage.

IFALPA claims the police recommendation to charge the two pilots, under offences relating to placing an aircraft in jeopardy, is “flawed on a number of levels”.

It says Brazilian law should respect a fundamental principle that there can be no criminal liability without intent, adding that there is no apparent evidence supporting any suggestion of intent to place the jet in danger.

The association also describes as a “staggering oversight” the decision by the Brazilian police to exclude the military from the investigation.

“In its own report the [police] acknowledge that air traffic controller performance was flawed yet failed to investigate fully the role played by air traffic control – vital to establish the sequence of events that led to the tragedy – claiming the military controllers are outside its jurisdiction,” it says.

IFALPA adds that an accident such as the 29 September 2006 collision requires independent technical investigation, and that this should be completed before any legal action is pursued.

“To pre-empt the results of an expert technical investigation with a judicial investigation, which may not be technically competent, is counterproductive to improvement of air safety,” it says.