Lawyers for two US pilots who were flying a US-bound Embraer Legacy 600 involved in a fatal mid-air collision with a Gol Boeing 737-800 in 2006 will appeal a guilty charge and sentence handed down by a Brazilian court.

The pilots were acquitted on five of six charges, but were convicted of failing to notice a cockpit indication that the traffic and collision avoidance system had been inhibited. This left both aircraft with only see-and-avoid capabilities, and no last-minute course change was attempted.

The judge sentenced the pilots to four years and four months community service to be served in the USA, said their attorney, Joel Weiss.

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Source: Flight International