Shame
I am a little embarassed with the way Brazil is handling air disasters. Letīs start from the beginning... in both the GOL and the TAM disasters we donīt have any evidence of criminal action coming from anybody. Of course if there were such an evidence, by all means, letīs criminalize the investigation.
Then there is the case that Brazil has an agency ran by experts in aviation that is investigating the disasters. They did not publish their final report. Should the criminal agencies wait for this report before deciding to sue someone?
Now, please tell me what do federal judges, federal police, members of the senate and house of representatives know about aviation? What expertise do they have to decide whose fault caused the disasters? I have read incredible conclusions from these people in deciding whom to bleme. It is a shame! They translated the tapes wrongly, took wrong conclusions, etc, etc. In the beginning the Minister of Defense used to say that the US Pilots put themselves the transponder off because they wanted to do stunts to test the new plane. What a crazy statement ,yet it was in all papers and TV.
Then there is the question that in the moment there us a criminal investigation the process is justly what we donīt want: people will shoot their mouths, of course, for fear of being prosecuted. There goes prevention out...
To make this short. The tendency all over the world when there is a disaster, unless there is a clear indication of criminal behavior (drunkness, the New York Towers, etc) ie to allow the proper agency to investigate the disaster aiming at learning what happened and proposing ways to prevent other disasters like the one being studied, Of course if in the course of this investigation it becomes clear that anyone showed a criminal behavior, I guess a criminal investigation is in order.
In the case of TAM and GOL so far I donīt see any evidence of criminal behavior on the part of anyone. Of course in the case of GOL, everyone knows that the Excel Air that bought the Legacy has a big insurance in case of being sued and of course the lawyers will go where the money is. Did you know that a judge already confiscated the Legacy at the Cachimbo Air Force Base and the plane is there idle, not being fixed, ready to be sold to pay for indenizations? The lawyers donīt want to go to an endless battle with the Brazilian government (Air Force) or the flight controlers (Air Force too). So it seems important to blame the pilots of the Legacy because there is were the money seem to be.
Well these are thoughts from someone who has been following these things very closely ,and have been appaled how totally ignorant people have come to decisions on who to blame way before the experts, the people from aviation, came to any conclusions on what happened. I doubt if this goes on around the world like is happening in Brazil.
And, I am not sure what would happen to a Brazilian crew if this disaster had hapened in the US. We are assuming that they would be blamed without due judgement, would be arrested? I really am not sure. But I am sure that there wouldnīt be so many investigative agencies with people who knows nothing about aviation deciding that they were at fault.
I got carried way... Sorry. Let me go back to my Cherokees...