Politics/spin/today's news
Whether the condition of Congonhas’s newly paved runway is eventually shown to have contributed or not to the TAM accident, it is seen by much of the media and the public as yet another example of government bungling, following on the Gol/Legacy collision, ATC black hole, the flip-flopping over ATC privatisation/increased militarisation. Added to which, scandal after scandal involving politicians and including Infraero management.
Responsibility for air transport safety in Brazil is split between so many different government entities now that power struggles are inevitable, as are the attempts to avoid blame when something goes wrong. ANAC, ministry of defense, the airforce, Infraero and a few others.
When something does go wrong, more parties get involved. In the case of the Gol accident it was the Federal Police, the judiciary and Congress. They do not coordinate actions and frequently work at cross purposes. Political parties tug and push; the media does likewise. It’s not all that much different in other countries.
So far, the government’s disaster response has been to disappear from public view, although president Lula, at a ceremony, expressed regret and said he’d ordered the Federal Police (!) to inspect the runway. Some sort of statement is expected tomorrow Friday 20 when “changes” are to be announced – the rumour mill in Brasilia is in top gear. The only representative who’s shown his face is the president of Infraero, to say the runway wasn’t to blame; he’s also pointed out the “smoke” coming from the A320’s port engine, which looks to most other observers more like spray blown forward.
A lot of people were surprised at the alacrity with which Infraero released those clips. It would have been more like Brazil to have hidden them from public view. There’s no suspicion of their having been tampered with, but the speed at which they were wheeled out to compare the two landings seems almost distasteful – even though it’s been tremendously elucidative to observers who would otherwise be in the dark.
Evening news developments:
TAM’s president confirmed to Globo today that the starboard thrust reverser had been inoperative since last Friday 13th and that they had 10 days in which to correct it. Globo say the captain of the same aircraft reported the runway as very slippery on Monday.
Sifting through the media expert interviews, most seem either convinced or accepting that:
a) Touchdown speed was normal and that they did not land long.
b) The port engine was still in reverse thrust when the aircraft passed the cameras and approached the end of the runway.
c) A GA was likely being attempted. Most are very cautious on this, some adamant based on the speed, none denying the possibility.
d) Standing water MAY have been a factor but rainfall at the time would indicate less than 1mm overall was likely.