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Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

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Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907
Wreckage of Gol 1907 in Amazon jungle
Occurrence
DateSeptember 29 2006
Summarymid-air collision[1]
Site10°29′S 53°15′W / 10.483°S 53.250°W / -10.483; -53.250, 200 km (120 miles) east of Peixoto de Azevedo, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Aircraft typeBoeing 737-800 SFP
OperatorGol Transportes Aéreos
RegistrationPR-GTD
Passengers148
Crew6
Fatalities154
Survivors0

Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 was a Boeing 737-800 SFP, registration PR-GTD, on a scheduled passenger flight from Manaus, Brazil to Rio de Janeiro, with a planned stop in Brasília on September 29, 2006. While flying over the Amazon in Brazilian center-western state of Mato Grosso, it collided with an Embraer Legacy business jet and crashed in an area of dense rainforest vegetation, 200 kilometers (120 miles) east of the municipality of Peixoto de Azevedo. All 154 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing were killed, while the slightly damaged Embraer was able to land safely with its seven occupants uninjured. This became the worst accident in Brazilian aviation history, surpassing Vasp Flight 168, which crashed in 1982 with 137 fatalities near Fortaleza.[2]

Boeing aircraft and crew

The Gol Boeing 737-800 aircraft, a new Short Field Performance variant,[3][4] had been delivered to Gol on September 12, 2006 and had only logged 234 hours of operation prior to the accident flight.[5][6]

There were 148 passengers (144 Brazilians and one each, French, German, Portuguese and American)[7][8] and 6 crew members were on board the Boeing. On September 30, 2006 Gol released the passenger and crew list.[9] The crew consisted of Captain Decio Chaves Jr., First Officer Tiago Jordão Cruso, as well as 4 flight attendants. The Captain had over 15,000 flight hours (4,000 of them on a 737), as well as being a flight instructor for GOL. The First Officer had 4,000 flight hours.[10] The accident was the first that resulted in the hull loss of a 737-800 (and the 737-600+ series as a whole), as well as the first that involved passenger and crew fatalities for that aircraft type.[11]

Embraer aircraft and crew

The damaged Embraer Legacy business jet, ExcelAire N600XL, at Brigadeiro Velloso Air Force Base, Pará
The undamaged side of the Legacy jet, for comparison.

The newly built Embraer Legacy 600 business jet, serial number 14500965 and registration N600XL,[12] [13] owned and operated by ExcelAire Service Inc., a Ronkonkoma, New York-based company, was on a delivery flight to the U.S. via a planned enroute stop in Manaus.[14][15] It departed from São José dos Campos airport, near São Paulo, and was on its way to Manaus when it collided with Gol Flight 1907 in mid air. The flight crew consisted of Captain Joseph Lepore, 42, and First Officer Jan Paul Paladino, 34, both U.S. citizens.[16][17] [18] The Italian-born [19] Captain Lepore had been a commercial pilot for more than 20 years, and had logged more than 8,000 flight hours. First Officer Paladino had been a commercial pilot for a decade, and had accumulated more than 6,400 flight hours. Both pilots were legally qualified to fly the Embraer Legacy as captain.[20]

Among the five passengers were two Embraer employees, two ExcelAire executives, as well as New York Times business travel columnist Joe Sharkey, who was writing a special report for a magazine specializing in corporate jets.[21][22] Sharkey reported to the New York Times that "the Legacy jet stabilized after the apparent collision until it landed at [the Brigadeiro Velloso] Brazilian air force base in the Amazon state of Pará".[23] There were no reported injuries on the Embraer jet. Brazilian Air Force and ANAC (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil) officials reportedly interviewed the Embraer crew and passengers for 5 hours, and the two "black boxes" (CVR and FDR) aboard the Embraer were removed and sent to São José dos Campos, São Paulo for analysis.[21]

According to Sharkey,[24] the crew and passengers were detained by Brazilian aviation authorities and police for 36 hours, and questioned intensively, after their "emergency landing at some formerly top-secret air base deep in the Amazon jungle".

On October 2, the Embraer's Captain and First Officer were ordered by the Mato Grosso Justice Tribunal to relinquish their passports pending further investigation. The request, made by the Peixoto de Azevedo prosecutor,[25] was granted by judge Tiago Sousa Nogueira e Abreu, who stated that the possibilty of pilot error on the part of the Embraer crew could not yet be ruled out.[26]

Collision

Map of Brazil, depicting presumed flight paths from flight origins to known crash site[27]
  Boeing southeast bound
  Embraer northwest bound

Initial reports suggested that the Boeing airliner and the Embraer business jet collided in mid-air, near the town of Matupá[28][29] (470 miles south of Manaus).[30] The Embraer landed safely at the Brigadeiro Velloso Brazilian Air Force base, despite some damage to the left horizontal stabilizer and left winglet.[31] While subsequent statements from local authorities mentioned that they were unable to determine with certainty that the incidents were related, the information given to the Air Force by the pilot of the Embraer jet makes a collision the most likely cause for the accident. [14][32] There were reports ATC lost contact (both radio and secondary radar) with the Embraer shortly before the collision.[33]

According to reports, the Embraer flight crew submitted an initial deposition, during which they testified that they were cleared to FL370 (flight level 370, approximately 37,000 feet above mean sea level) by Brasilia ATC, and were level at that assigned altitude when the apparent collision occurred. It was also asserted by the Embraer flight crew that at the time of the collision they had lost contact with Brasilia ATC, and their anti-collision system did not alert them to any oncoming traffic.[18]

Passenger/Journalist Joe Sharkey also confirmed the apparent collision altitude. In his New York Times article titled "Colliding With Death at 37,000 Feet, and Living",[16] filed on October 1, 2006, Sharkey reported:

And it had been a nice ride. Minutes before we were hit, I had wandered up to the cockpit to chat with the pilots, who said the plane was flying beautifully. I saw the readout that showed our altitude: 37,000 feet. I returned to my seat. Minutes later came the strike (it sheared off part of the plane’s tail, too, we later learned).

Sources say that one eye-witness, a local farmer, reported seeing a large commercial aircraft flying low in the Cachimbo Mountain Range area of Pará. Other witnesses reported seeing or hearing an explosion, but their reports are unconfirmed.[34] Reports said that the last contact with the aircraft was at 1650 local time (1950 GMT) near the remote town of São Félix do Araguaia, Pará.

Recovery operation

Aerial photo of crash site

The Brazilian Air Force sent 5 fixed wing aircraft and 3 helicopters to the region, one of which equipped with a magnetic anomaly detector, for an extensive search and rescue operation. As many as 200 personnel were reported to be involved in the operation, among them a group of Kayapo indians familiar with the forest.[35] The crash site of Gol Flight 1907 was spotted on 30 September by Brazilian Air Force authorities, at coordinates 10°29′S 53°15′W / 10.483°S 53.250°W / -10.483; -53.250,[36] 200 km (120 miles) east of Peixoto de Azevedo in the Jarinã farm area.[37] It was reported that rescue personnel had difficulty reaching the crash site due to the dense forest. Infraero at first indicated the possibility of five survivors, but a later statement from the Air Force, based on data collected by Air Force personnel who rappelled (abseiled) to the crash site and local authorities confirms that there are no survivors. [38] Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has declared three days of national mourning. [39]

The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder from the Boeing 737 were found on October 2, 2006 and handed over to the investigators for processing. [40] Unfortunately, both were very damaged. [41]

As of October 2, Air Force crews have recovered 100 bodies from the wreckage. The bodies were found near the aircraft's tail, about 1km from the main wreckage site. [42] On October 4, the rescue crews began moving the bodies to the temporary base established at the nearby Jarinã farm. The Air Force has deployed a C-115 Buffalo aircraft to transport the bodies to Brasília, where they'll be examined and identified. [43]

Initial investigation

On October 9, 2006 a facsimile copy of the Embraer's originally filed flight plan was released by the news media.[44] The flight plan consisted of flying at FL370 up to Brasilia, on airway UW2, followed by a planned descent at Brasilia to FL360, then proceeding outbound from Brasilia northwest-bound along airway UZ6 to the 'Teres' fix[45], an aeronautical waypoint located 513 km northwest of Brasilia, where a climb to FL380 was planned. According to the filed flight plan, the Embraer was to have been level at FL380, proceeding towards Manaus, while passing the eventual collision point, which was about 307 km northwest of Teres. To date, the ATC radio communication transcripts showing the actual routing and altitude clearances to the Embraer or the Boeing, both before flight as well as enroute, have not been released. The Embraer crew was reported to assert in their deposition that they were cleared to FL370 for the entire trip, all the way to Manaus.[46]

See also

Template:Wikinewspar2

References

  1. ^ "Diretora da Anac confirma colisão entre avião da Gol e jato Legacy" (in Portuguese). Folha Online. 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2006-10-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident description Boeing 727-212 PP-SRK - Sierra de Pacatuba, CE". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2006-09-30.
  3. ^ "Boeing 737 Design Enhancements Earn FAA Certification". Boeing. 2006-07-27. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Guerra, Flávio (2006-09-16). "Airliners.net Photos: Gol Transportes Aereos Boeing 737-8EH". Airliners.net. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Officials: Plane carrying 155 disappears". CNN. 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Brazilian jet carrying 155 missing". MSNBC. 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "GOL CORRIGE LISTA DE PASSAGEIROS E NÚMERO DE MORTOS CAI PARA 154" (in Portuguese). October 5, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "U.S. pilots may face manslaughter charge in Brazil crash". CNN. October 4, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Gol divulga lista de passageiros do vôo 1907" (in Portuguese). Folha Online. 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Saiba mais sobre os passageiros e tripulantes que estavam no vôo 1907". Folha SP. October 5, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Aviation Safety Network Accident Database, by type".
  12. ^ "Pictures of damaged Legacy aircraft". DAC. 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2006-10-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Embraer confirms it believes Legacy was involved in Gol Boeing 737 collision". Flight International. 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ a b ""Bati em alguma coisa", diz piloto do Legacy" (in Portuguese). Globo. 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Sequera, Vivian (2006-09-30). "Brazilian authorities find missing airliner carrying 155 people". News1130. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ a b "Colliding With Death at 37,000 Feet, and Living". New York Times. October 1, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "Ocupantes do Legacy dizem ter sentido impacto" (in Portuguese). Globo. 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2006-10-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ a b "PILOTO DO LEGACY DIZ QUE TORRE AUTORIZOU ALTITUDE DE VÔO". Retrieved 2006-10-02.
  19. ^ ""ME FALAM DESDE DOMINGO QUE ELE VOLTA AMANHÃ", DIZ PAI DO PILOTO" (in Portuguese). Globo. 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2006-10-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "U.S. pilots may face manslaughter charge in Brazil crash". CNN. October 4, 2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ a b Tourinho, Gustavo (2006-10-01). "Caixas-pretas do Legacy chegam a São José dos Campos para perícia (Legacy's black boxes arrive in São Jose Dos Campos for analysis)" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2006-10-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ "Brazilian Authorities Suspect No Survivors From Jet That Crashed Carrying 155 People". Fox News. 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ "Rescuers struggle to reach crash site in dense Amazon forest, little hope of survivors". North County Times. 2006-10-02. Retrieved 2006-10-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ "Joe Sharkey at Large - "Astonished to Be Alive..."". October 2, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ "Pilotos do Legacy estão proibidos de deixar o Brasil" (in Portuguese). Ministério Público do Estado de Mato Grosso. 2006-10-02. Retrieved 2006-10-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); line feed character in |publisher= at position 12 (help)
  26. ^ "Justiça manda apreender passaportes de pilotos do Legacy" (in Portuguese). Folha Online. 2006-10-02. Retrieved 2006-10-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ "Quadro mostra as hipóteses sobre a colisão dos aviões" (in Portuguese). October 3, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ "Matupá, Brazil - Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2006-09-30.
  29. ^ "Avião da Gol Desaparece na Região de Matupá, em Mato Grosso" (in Portuguese). Globo. 2006-09-29. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ "Embraer divulga nota sobre acidente que envolveu uma da suas aeronaves" (in Portuguese). O Globo Online. 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ "NTSB Preliminary Synopsis". Retrieved 2006-10-05.
  32. ^ "FAB Mantém buscas por avião desaparecido" (in Portuguese). Globo. 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ "LEGACY FICOU FORA DO RADAR POR 15 MINUTOS E RECEBEU 5 ALERTAS" (in Portuguese). G1.com.br. 2006-10-05. Retrieved 2006-10-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ "Avião da Gol caiu na Vertical, diz Infraero" (in Portuguese). O Globo Online. 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ "Índios ajudam a resgatar vítimas de acidente com avião, o pior ocorrido no Brasil" (in Portuguese). Folha Online. 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2006-10-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ "Não há sobreviventes em acidente com o avião da Gol, diz Aeronáutica" (in Portuguese). Folha Online. 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ "Destroços de avião da Gol indicam queda vertical" (in Portuguese). Folha Online. 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ "FAB diz que não há sobreviventes" (in Portuguese). Globo. 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  39. ^ "Lula declara luto nacional" (in Portuguese). Globo. 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  40. ^ "Aeronáutica encontra caixas-pretas do Boeing da Gol (Air Force recovers black boxes from Gol Boeing)" (in Portuguese). Globo. 2006-10-02. Retrieved 2006-10-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  41. ^ "Últimas informações sobre as caixas pretas e o trabalho da comissão de investigação" (in Portuguese). Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil. 2006-10-03. Retrieved 2006-10-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  42. ^ "Defesa diz que cem corpos foram encontrados na cauda do avião (Defence Ministry says 100 bodies were found in the aircraft's tail)" (in Portuguese). Globo. 2006-10-02. Retrieved 2006-10-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  43. ^ "Brazilian Air Force press release" (in Portuguese). Força Aérea Brasileira (Brazilian Air Force). 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2006-10-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  44. ^ "PLANO DE VÔO MOSTRA QUE LEGACY ESTAVA NA ALTITUDE ERRADA". October 9, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  45. ^ The Teres fix is located on airway UZ6 at coordinates 12°28.5'S, 51°22.1'W
  46. ^ "Para Infraero, Legacy descumpriu plano de vôo". October 9, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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