Brazil Gol Airline Crashed

[Pieter C. 5]

Brazil To Ban Airline Overbooking Over New Year

 

December 27, 2006

Brazil will prohibit national airlines from overbooking flights over the New Year holiday to avoid the kind of air traffic jam that stranded thousands over Christmas.

 

"It is absolutely impossible that we tolerate any overbooking by any airline," Defense Minister Waldir Pires said on Wednesday after a two hour meeting with civil aviation authorities and other government officials.

 

Overbooking, or selling more tickets than there are seats on a plane, is a common practice among airlines because too many last-minute cancellations can hurt profits.

 

Echoing media reports, Pires said there was evidence that Brazil's biggest carrier, TAM, had heavily overbooked over the Christmas holiday weekend.

 

Emergency repairs forced TAM to pull six planes out of service just days before Christmas, leaving thousands of travelers trapped at airports.

 

ANAC, a civil agency that took over aviation regulation from Brazil's Air Force in March, banned TAM from selling more tickets between last Friday and Monday.

 

It also started an investigation into TAM's booking and maintenance procedures. Pires said he expected to see the report by Thursday.

 

Earlier on Wednesday, a spokesman for TAM said the airline was cooperating with the investigation and that its procedures follow industry norms.

 

Brazil's air travel system has suffered repeated bouts of chaos since September, when a business jet and a Boeing 737 flown by Gol clipped wings over the Amazon jungle.

 

The business jet landed safely but the Gol plane lost part of a wing and crashed into the jungle, killing 154 people.

 

National air traffic has jammed repeatedly since then, owing to communication equipment failures, thunderstorms and air traffic controllers staging slowdowns to protest against long hours and low pay.

 

Pires said a repeat of the Christmas traffic jam over the New Year holiday would be "absolutely unthinkable."

 

The government also wants to restrict charter flights by commercial airlines to guarantee capacity to the general public, he added.

 

(Reuters)

 

The Brazilian Air Force was even helping out stranded passengers by operating Boeing 707's and 737's

 

(Wouldn't mind to fly on board the FAB 707 myself )

 

[Seth K 3]

Hmm, first of all why can't have more flights? Cause air traffic jam.......how many airplanes are there inflight in Brazil Airspace at a time anyway? A lot? This solution makes no sense at all, since the airlines are not the one to be punish for bad air control.....

 

2 cents

Edited December 28, 2006 by Seth K

[Pieter C. 5]

Hmm, first of all why can't have more flights? Cause air traffic jam.......how many airplanes are there inflight in Brazil Airspace at a time anyway? A lot?

 

Here's your answer, Seth, see the last alinea especially:

 

Brazil Tightens Reins On Holiday Air Travel

 

December 29, 2006

Brazil will oversee airfare sales, prohibit flight cancellations and ask airlines to set aside reserve jets this weekend in order to avoid the kind of air traffic meltdown that stranded thousands of travelers over Christmas, authorities said on Thursday.

 

"We are in control of the flight network until January 2," said Milton Zuanazzi, the president of Brazil's civil aviation authority ANAC.

 

Zuanazzi said the emergency restrictions were meant to prevent overbooking, the common practice of selling more tickets than available seats to reduce losses from no-shows.

 

Authorities want to avoid a repeat of an air traffic jam that occurred over the Christmas weekend, when unexpected repairs forced TAM to pull six planes out of service, leaving thousands of holiday travelers trapped at airports.

 

Brazilian airlines will move 20 percent fewer passengers over the New Year holiday than they did over Christmas, Zuanazzi told reporters after meeting with Brazil's Defense Minister and other aviation officials.

 

ANAC banned TAM from selling more tickets between last Friday and Monday and launched an investigation into its booking and maintenance procedures. Press reports suggested TAM, Brazil's biggest airline, had heavily overbooked flights.

 

TAM will be hard hit by the drop in New Year traffic, flying only about 65,000 passengers this Friday compared with 79,000 last Friday, according to Zuanazzi.

 

TAM will keep five planes on full-time reserve for the weekend and another five during peak travel hours, while Brazil's second largest carrier, Gol will keep two planes on reserve all weekend, he said.

 

Together the two airlines control about 80 percent of Brazil's air traffic.

 

Brazil's air travel system has suffered repeated bouts of chaos since September, when a business jet and a Boeing 737 flown by Gol clipped wings over the Amazon jungle. The business jet landed safely but the Gol plane lost part of a wing and crashed into the jungle, killing 154 people.

 

National air traffic has jammed repeatedly since then, owing to communication equipment failures, thunderstorms and air traffic controllers staging slowdowns to protest against long hours and low pay.

 

(Reuters)

 

 

[Pieter C. 5]

Cockpit voice recorder transcript from the ExcelAire Legacy 600 that collided with a Gol 737-800 in midair and resulted in the deaths of all 154 aboard the airliner, was published yesterday by Folha de S. Paulo, Brazil's largest newspaper. It indicated that the Legacy pilots had difficulty communicating with ATC throughout the flight. "I've got a problem with the radio here," one said, according to the Associated Press. While the pilots may be found criminally liable, Brazilian ATC has come under considerable scrutiny in recent months as communication system failures have led to delays and cancellations. Following the collision, the pilots complained they had been abandoned by ATC, the transcript revealed.

 

 

[Pieter C. 5]

Brazil Air Travel Safe But Lacks Controllers

 

April 12, 2007

Brazil's air traffic control is understaffed and lacks modern equipment, but travel is still safe, aviation authorities told Congress on Wednesday.

 

Lawmakers called the hearing to investigate a 6-month-old aviation crisis that culminated in a nationwide airport shutdown last month when about 100 air traffic controllers walked off the job.

 

Controllers returned to work after a few hours, but they have threatened to resign if their demands are not met. They want a pay increase, safety equipment upgraded and the system to be run by civilians not the military.

 

Several international aviation experts have cautioned about inadequate flight security in Brazil and one group said safety was as poor as in Africa.

 

But Defense Minister Waldir Pires disagreed.

 

"That is almost a provocation. Brazil has one of the best security records in the world," he told the hearing.

 

He later acknowledged that air control had staffing and equipment problems.

 

Air Force Commander Juniti Saito confirmed controllers' claims that parts of Brazil's airspace are not fully covered by radar.

 

But, he said, "Even when an aircraft is out of radar reach, it's being monitored. It is malice to say there are black holes in our control."

 

Saito said two of the four air traffic control centers had yet to be modernized and there was "occasional" atmospheric interference in radio communications.

 

The March strike renewed criticism that Lula had underestimated aviation problems that surfaced after Brazil's worst air crash in September.

 

Investigators say faulty radio contact may have contributed to the mid-air collision of a small executive jet and a Gol airlines Boeing 737 on September 29 that killed 154 people.

 

A subsequent shortage of air traffic controllers -- some were suspended and others on holiday -- caused widespread flight delays and cancellations, Saito said.

 

The air force did not take a position on demilitarizing the air traffic control system, but said it would be complicated because it required legal changes, equipment purchases and additional personnel.

 

"It's not easy to separate control," he said.

 

Air traffic in Latin America's largest country has grown, on average, by 17 percent annually for the past four years.

 

"Demand is growing faster than in China," Milton Zuanazzi, head of the aviation authority Anac, told the hearing.

 

(Reuters)

 

[Pieter C. 5]

More Brazilian airline-news (GOL and Varig):

 

Air transport disruptions have heavy impact on Gol

 

Monday April 23, 2007

The disruptions bedeviling the Brazilian air transport market proved to be too much for Gol during the first quarter, with the LCC reporting a BRL116.6 million ($57.3 million) profit that represented a 35.2% fall from earnings of BRL179.8 million in the first three months of 2006.

 

Gol also lowered its full-year forecast to account for its acquisition of Varig. It touted its new service to Peru, 15-hr.-per-day utilization and declining unit costs, but said the bottom line could not overcome "the continued challenges caused by the external difficulties that affected the airline sector in Brazil. A high level of well-publicized flight cancellations contributed to suppressed demand, producing lower than expected yields and load factors."

 

Revenue climbed 20.7% to BRL1.04 billion against a 43.3% surge in operating expenses to BRL916.2 million driven by a 42.1% rise in fuel cost to BRL361.3 million. Operating profit declined 44.1% to BRL125.1 million.

 

The airline flew 4.89 billion RPKs during the three-month period, an increase of 59.6% from the year-ago quarter. Capacity was up 61.5% to 7.01 billion ASKs and load factor fell 0.8 point to 69.8%. A 21.8% drop in average fare to BRL182.62 and a 20.4% increase in stage length contributed to a 26.5% year-over-year decline in yield to BRL0.199. Operating RASM fell 25.3% to BRL0.149, while unit cost dropped 11.3% to BRL0.131, or 10.8% to BRL0.079 excluding fuel.

 

Gol said it still expects to enjoy a more than 60% year-over-year increase in annual revenues to approximately BRL6.1 billion and a unit cost reduction in excess of 12%, but noted that its recent purchase of Varig required revised guidance. It now projects earnings per share of BRL4.20- BRL4.70 rather than the previously forecast BRL5.20-BRL5.65 and an operating margin of around 20% rather than 23%. Yield is expected to fall 8% and capacity will jump about 80% rather than 50%, with load factors around 72%. The carrier posted a BRL569.1 million profit in 2006.

 

and GOL's involvement with Varig:

 

Gol yesterday detailed its fleet plan for Varig in conjunction with its first-quarter earnings release (see story above). It said the Varig fleet, which will continue to operate independently of the new parent company, will comprise 14 737-300s and two 767-300ERs at the end of the current quarter. By year end Varig will operate nine 737-300s, five 737-800s and eight 767-300ERs. The 737-300s will be phased out by 2009, when Varig is scheduled to fly eight 737-700s, nine 737-800s and 16 767-300ERs. By 2012 it will operate 14, 15 and 22 of the respective types. Gol said Varig "will provide an attractive service offering to business travelers in the domestic market and offer new services to high-traffic destinations in South America, Europe and North America."

[Naim 6]

Latest Development

 

Get NTSB Safety Recommendation letter (dated 2/5/07, pdf) HERE.

 

James Wallace on Aerospace

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/aerospa...ives/114828.asp

 

GOL 737 crash update -- NTSB report

 

The NTSB, in a letter Wednesday to the Federal Aviation Administration, said pilots need to be aware about the circumstances of the mid-air collision in April between a Boeing 737-800 operated by Brazil's Gol airlines, and an Embraer legacy 600 business jet.

 

All 154 people on the 737 were killed. The other plane was able to land despite damage.

 

It was the first crash of a next-generation 737 that killed passengers.

 

The pilots of the business jet apparently were not aware that the jet's transponder was set to STANDBY mode and in this mode it was not transmitting data. This meant the jet's collision avoidance system, TCAS, could not display vital information that would have alerted the pilots that the Gol 737 was headed their way.

...

 

Pilots Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino, both of New York, were accused by police of exposing an aircraft to danger. Both pilots were forced to remain in Brazil for 71 days after the crash, but were allowed to leave after agreeing to return to face any criminal charges.

The owners of the private plane have blamed air traffic controllers in Brazil for the accident, claiming both planes were cleared to fly at the same altitude.

[Naim 6]

POSTED: 8:55 p.m. EDT, June 1, 2007

U.S. pilots, Brazilian controllers indicted in deadly crash

 

Story Highlights

• Two U.S. pilots, four Brazilian air traffic controllers indicted in 2006 plane crash

• 154 people died when the corporate jet and Brazilian airliner collided midair

• Pilots' attorney says allegations are "inaccurate, and the pilots are innocent"

• Crash was worst air disaster in Brazilian history

 

(CNN) -- A Brazilian judge Friday indicted two U.S. pilots and four Brazilian air traffic controllers on manslaughter-related charges stemming from the deadliest air disaster in Brazil's history, court spokesman Fabio Paz said.

 

Last September, 154 people died when an Embraer Legacy 600 jet clipped a Gol Airlines Boeing 737 midair. The larger jet crashed into the remote Amazon jungle, killing everyone on board. The smaller jet made an emergency landing with a wingtip missing.

 

Judge Murilo Mendes accepted charges made by a prosecutor last week, but the decision has not yet been published in the official Brazilian newspaper, Diario Oficial, Paz said. Once published -- as early as next week -- those indicted have five days to appeal.

 

The U.S. pilots, Joseph Lepore and Jan Paul Paladino are due in court for interrogation on August 27. The air traffic controllers, identified as Jomarcelo Fernandes Dos Santos, Lucivando Tiburcio De Alencar, Leandro Jose Santos De Barros and Felipe Santos Dos Reis, are set to appear in court the next day.

 

The interrogations must take place in Brazil, Paz said.

 

The pilots and three of the controllers face charges of exposing an aircraft to danger resulting in death, according to The Associated Press. The charge, similar to involuntary manslaughter, is punishable by one to three years in prison, Paz said, according to AP.

 

One of the four controllers was indicted for knowingly exposing an aircraft to danger, a more serious crime similar to manslaughter, AP reported.

 

Joel Weiss, the attorney for the pilots, said the judge's decision "has nothing to do with guilt or innocence" but whether the allegations in the prosecutor's complaint should be heard by the court.

 

"The pilots' conduct was completely competent throughout the flight and cannot be fairly characterized as criminal," Weiss said, according to AP. "The allegations against the pilots are inaccurate, and the pilots are innocent."

 

Weiss accused the Brazilian prosecutor of rushing a criminal charge ahead of "an impartial air safety investigation."

 

"The fact is that air traffic control placed and approved these two aircraft on a collision course, on the same airway and altitude traveling toward each other," he said. "That is the overwhelming, obvious root cause of this accident. We will vigorously defend the pilots against these charges, and they will be vindicated."

 

Weiss said he has not yet seen the judge's decision.

 

The death toll surpassed that of Brazil's previous worst air disaster: the 1982 crash of a Boeing 727 operated by the now-defunct Vasp airline in the northeastern city of Fortaleza that killed 137 people.

 

The accident also launched a widespread debate, still ongoing, over whether the military or civilians should be have control of air traffic.

 

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Pieter C. 5]

Wouldn't like to spend the rest of my life in a Brazilian prison, whether guilty or not, that's for sure !!!

[Pieter C. 5]

Gol 737 crash report blames ExcelAire pilots, Brazilian ATC

 

Tuesday December 9, 2008

The Brazilian Air Force is set to release a final report on the Sept. 29, 2006, midair collision between a Gol 737-800 and an ExcelAire Legacy 600 that led to the deaths of all 154 aboard the 737, and reportedly it will cite as primary causes the ExcelAire pilots' negligence in inadvertently turning off the aircraft's transponder and a series of mistakes by air traffic controllers.

 

The report is expected to be released officially tomorrow after victims' families have been given an opportunity to review it. Brazilian media reported the findings over the weekend.

 

According to Brazzil Magazine, the report will claim that the transponder was off and did not send any information to ATC for 58 min. and will hold the two ExcelAire pilots responsible for the mistake. It will state further that the pilots were not well-versed on Brazilian flight regulations.

 

But it also will blame ATC, claiming that controllers gave poor instructions and faulty altitude guidance to the pilots. It will state that a number of controllers failed to notice that the Legacy was not relaying information to ATC for nearly an hour and also passed wrong altitude readings on the aircraft to one another.

 

Joel Weiss, an attorney for the two American pilots, told Newsday that the pilots should not be blamed for "a string of utterly catastrophic errors of air traffic control," adding that ATC "put and kept these two planes on a collision course. Any report that the pilots are at fault for that is nonsense."

 

ExcelAire Executive VP David Rimmer told the Associated Press, "The transponder issue is a distraction from. . .an air traffic control system that put two airplanes on a collision course. . .We have no proof of how the transponder was turned off and no evidence to suggest it was inadvertently turned off by the pilots."

 

Brazilian police in late 2006 charged the two ExcelAire Legacy pilots, who were detained in Brazil for more than two months after the crash, with endangering aircraft safety. The pilots have not been summoned to Brazil for a criminal trial since leaving the country in December 2006 after agreeing to return if a trial were held.

 

 

 

Report Blames U.S. Pilots, Controllers for Brazil Midair

 

According to reports in several Brazilian newspapers, U.S. Legacy 600 pilots Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino and Brazilian controllers will be blamed for the September 2006 midair in which an ExcelAire-owned Embraer Legacy 600 collided with a Gol Airlines Boeing 737-800 over Brazil’s Amazon jungle, killing all 154 aboard the airliner. A final accident report, leaked to the Brazilian press over the weekend and expected to be officially issued tomorrow at noon by both the NTSB and Brazilian aviation safety agency Cenipa, claims the Legacy’s transponder was “inadvertently turned off by the hand of one of the pilots,” which was the “central point in a chain of errors” leading to the collision between the Legacy and Boeing 737 at FL370. A transponder turned off or set to “standby” mode also places its TCAS into “standby” mode. The controllers will be taken to task for failing to note the drop in transponder returns from the Legacy, miscommunication about the Legacy’s altitude and failure of communication between the crew and ATC. ExcelAire executive vice president David Rimmer said, “The transponder is a distraction from the true cause of the accident: ATC put two airplanes on a collision course for about an hour. It was compounded by multiple catastrophic errors and weaknesses within the ATC system.”