BRAZIL: Federal police begin investigating air crash while funerals begin

After nearly two hundred were killed in Brazil's worst air disaster on Tuesday (July 17), the country's authorities are being pressured to review its overcrowded, undersized airports inside city centres. The Congonhas airport in the heart of Sao Paulo, where the disaster occurred on Tuesday (July 17), operated at full capacity and according to specialists its runways are too short for landing large commercial aircrafts, especially under rain. On Thursday (July 19) Federal Police investigators and air accident specialists examined the runway to evaluate the causes of the accident. Congonhas is Brazil's busiest airport, handling most domestic flights for the country's financial capital of 16 million inhabitants. Analysts say the Santos Dumont airport in the centre of Rio de Janeiro faces similar problems and presents similar risks. According to witnesses, the Airbus A320 with 186 people on board failed to brake in time on the rain-soaked runway and crashed into a building across the road from the airport, bursting into flames. The airport repaved its landing strip last month but lacked grooving to help drain water during heavy rains. Analysts agree large planes should be handled by the international airports, Guarulhos in Sao Paulo and Galeao in Rio de Janeiro. The headlines of Brazil's main newspapers demanded explanations for the accident which shocked the country less than one year after another deadly crash. On Thursday a TAM aircraft gave up its landing procedure as it approached Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo amid haze. The plane landed safely later. Risk management consultant Gustavo Mello said Congonhas' runway is not safe for aircrafts carrying over one hundred passengers and therefore cannot support large Airbuses and Boeings. "It's a runway measuring 1,940 metres and therefore it does not hold large aircrafts, known as "wide bodies", that is, a Boeing 737, an Airbus 320 or 321, none of these are aircrafts that are recommended to land there. Is it possible to land there? Yes, it is and that is why it has been receiving aircrafts from everywhere. But any mistake, any problem on the runway, any pilot's mistake, problem on the machinery, etc, is fatal," he said. Congonhas' runway is 1,940 meters long, just enough for an A320 to land in dry weather conditions, according to Mello. But according to U.S. National Transportation Safety Board's norms, at least another 300 meters are required for landing on a wet strip. Mello said Congonhas does not have conditions to be the country's busiest airport. "No one is asking anyone to end with Congonhas, we are asking them to reallocate and redistribute the system to make it safer," he said. Earlier this year, officials tried to ban large jets from the airport because of fears they could skid off its short landing strips, but the proposal was rejected. Meanwhile the families of the disaster have been grieving the loss of their loved ones and demanded changes be made. Pain and despair overwhelmed relatives during funerals which took place mostly in the city of Porto Alegre on Thursday. Joao Estato, who lost his son in the crash, spoke about his grief. "It's a terrible pain, especially now the state I have received my son, I can't even look at him anymore," he said. Air travel in Brazil has repeatedly been disrupted since another major crash in September killed 154 people, unveiling a series of problems, including insufficient infrastructure and overburdened, underpaid air traffic controllers.

ITN Source | July 20, 2007

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