Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Ailiner Crash In Brazil
A Brazilian airliner landing at Conganhas Airport crashed, killing all on board, and probably some on the ground also. I won't bother with details, it's still fresh news and info is easy to find on most news websites.
Go to GoogleEarth, and type in "congonhas airport" and you'll see why this was an accident waiting to happen. The runway had just been resurfaced and there were no rain drainage grooves cut into the runway yet. Previous pilots had reported "Extremely slippery" landing conditions. There's a pretty dense build up around that airport. (To be fair, GoogleEarth Chicago Midway. You'll see it isn't much better.) However, as with Midway, due to its close proximity to businesses inside the city, Congonhas remains a popular destination.
If you'll remember, there was a mid-air collision between a Brazilian airliner (GOL Boeing 737-800) and an American corporate jet (Excel Aire Embraer Legacy 600) last September. All aboard the Boeing, which crashed in the rain jungle, died. The American jet landed safely. The two American pilots were imprisoned and had their visas and passports confiscated as Brazilian authorities insisted they were the ones at fault for the collision, and were to be tried for manslaughter. After several months, cooler heads prevailed as intense pressure was brought onto the Brazilian government, and the pilots were "allowed" to return home, upon the condition they report back immediately if summoned. (Fat chance of that happening.) It turned out that Brazilian traffic controllers erred in instructions and the crash was inevitible. More info here.
All of the posturing was an attempt by Brazilian aviation authorities to cover up air traffic control errors and mismanagement.
Worldwide, pilot's unions have been campaigning for congested areas beyond the ends of runways to be cleared of building to establish "buffer zones" beyond the thresholds of the runways. But, as usual, it's the old bugaboo, money. It would cost a great deal to acquire all those buildings, relocate any businesses and families, and clear the land. There's few in any government, here or elsewhere, with the stomach to raise taxes enough to do the job, because we're talking about billions of dollars to do the job. YOU may think it's a no-brainer, but there are PLENTY of people out there who would disagree with you. They'd tell you the tax money would be wasted and tell you "If you don't like the odds, drive."
To give you an idea of what it's like to land there, here's a video of the very same type of aircraft, an Airbus A320, landing on the accident runway (35L), but in the opposite direction. (17R) As the plane approaches the runway, that fairly large "L" shaped building just to the right of the highway is where the plane ended up. Ironically, It belongs to the airline involved. TAM.
CLICK HERE
Go to GoogleEarth, and type in "congonhas airport" and you'll see why this was an accident waiting to happen. The runway had just been resurfaced and there were no rain drainage grooves cut into the runway yet. Previous pilots had reported "Extremely slippery" landing conditions. There's a pretty dense build up around that airport. (To be fair, GoogleEarth Chicago Midway. You'll see it isn't much better.) However, as with Midway, due to its close proximity to businesses inside the city, Congonhas remains a popular destination.
If you'll remember, there was a mid-air collision between a Brazilian airliner (GOL Boeing 737-800) and an American corporate jet (Excel Aire Embraer Legacy 600) last September. All aboard the Boeing, which crashed in the rain jungle, died. The American jet landed safely. The two American pilots were imprisoned and had their visas and passports confiscated as Brazilian authorities insisted they were the ones at fault for the collision, and were to be tried for manslaughter. After several months, cooler heads prevailed as intense pressure was brought onto the Brazilian government, and the pilots were "allowed" to return home, upon the condition they report back immediately if summoned. (Fat chance of that happening.) It turned out that Brazilian traffic controllers erred in instructions and the crash was inevitible. More info here.
All of the posturing was an attempt by Brazilian aviation authorities to cover up air traffic control errors and mismanagement.
Worldwide, pilot's unions have been campaigning for congested areas beyond the ends of runways to be cleared of building to establish "buffer zones" beyond the thresholds of the runways. But, as usual, it's the old bugaboo, money. It would cost a great deal to acquire all those buildings, relocate any businesses and families, and clear the land. There's few in any government, here or elsewhere, with the stomach to raise taxes enough to do the job, because we're talking about billions of dollars to do the job. YOU may think it's a no-brainer, but there are PLENTY of people out there who would disagree with you. They'd tell you the tax money would be wasted and tell you "If you don't like the odds, drive."
To give you an idea of what it's like to land there, here's a video of the very same type of aircraft, an Airbus A320, landing on the accident runway (35L), but in the opposite direction. (17R) As the plane approaches the runway, that fairly large "L" shaped building just to the right of the highway is where the plane ended up. Ironically, It belongs to the airline involved. TAM.
CLICK HERE
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All of the posturing was an attempt by Brazilian aviation authorities to cover up air traffic control errors and mismanagement.
Obviously, they trained here!:P
Brazil isn't exactly floating on bucks. I wonder how good the tires were on the planes, as well?
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Obviously, they trained here!:P
Brazil isn't exactly floating on bucks. I wonder how good the tires were on the planes, as well?
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