U.S. pilots may face manslaughter charge in Brazil crash(Transponder off?)
The U.S. pilots of an executive jet could be charged with manslaughter if they are considered responsible for a high-altitude crash with a Boeing 737 that killed 155 people, federal police said Wednesday.
Police earlier seized the passports of pilots Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino, both from New York state, to prevent them from leaving the country.
The two were piloting the Brazilian-made Embraer Legacy 600 when it collided with a Boeing 737-800 over Mato Grosso state in the Amazon rain forest. The Boeing crashed, killing all 155 aboard. The Legacy landed safely at an air force base.
Investigators are puzzled why the pilots weren't alerted by equipment designed to avoid collisions. The air force said both jets were equipped with a traffic collision avoidance system, which monitors other planes and sets off an alarm if they get too close.
"Preliminary investigations indicate that the pilots may have turned off the transponder" that communicates the plane's location, he said. If so, that would mean "that they knew the risks they were running and nevertheless they took certain attitudes that endangered the lives of people."
Link Here
The wing and tail of the Embraer Legacy 600 were damaged in what seems to have been a collision with a Boeing 737 in Brazil on Friday.
Police earlier seized the passports of pilots Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino, both from New York state, to prevent them from leaving the country.
The two were piloting the Brazilian-made Embraer Legacy 600 when it collided with a Boeing 737-800 over Mato Grosso state in the Amazon rain forest. The Boeing crashed, killing all 155 aboard. The Legacy landed safely at an air force base.
Investigators are puzzled why the pilots weren't alerted by equipment designed to avoid collisions. The air force said both jets were equipped with a traffic collision avoidance system, which monitors other planes and sets off an alarm if they get too close.
"Preliminary investigations indicate that the pilots may have turned off the transponder" that communicates the plane's location, he said. If so, that would mean "that they knew the risks they were running and nevertheless they took certain attitudes that endangered the lives of people."
Link Here
The wing and tail of the Embraer Legacy 600 were damaged in what seems to have been a collision with a Boeing 737 in Brazil on Friday. NYT's writer was on surviving plane - here's good account of the collision and emergency landing. Also interesting that Brazilian authorities after questioning passengers photographed naked from waist up to show they weren't tortured.
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 3:50 PM
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