Originally Posted by
A310driver
Thanks for the quotations and updates.
Looks like it came from the police or some other non-aviation entity because of the quote regarding the fact that the Legacy did not request a level change.
The Legacy was cleared to maintain FL370. That's it. It was under no obligation nor would it have beeen expected to request a different level after passing BRS(at which time it was under radar surveilance with an ATC acknowledgement that it was maintaining 370).
The real failure of ATC in this situation is not that it could not effect a change or confirm the level of 600XL, but its failure to assure that the GOL flight (or any other conflicting traffic in its sector or adjoining sectors) was properly informed of the situation so that appropriate adjustments(heading/level)could have been made on a contingency basis.
That report comes from the Preliminary Report of the Brazilian Aeronautics Investigators after they got the CVR of the Legacy and the records of all ATC's involved (not the police), you can also find it at NTSB
http://www.ntsb.gov/pressrel/2006/061122a.htm .
This point was the first of a serie that cause the collision.
Legacy crew have the right to think they were cleared FL370 to Manaus, but ATC says that this comunication was only to clear FL370 up to Brasilia, of course was a mistake from SBSJ ATC the way they talked to the Legacy's crew (something like .... FL370, Manaus)