Mid-air collision over Brasil
 

Reuters News Agency are reporting a collision in Brasil between a craft carrying 150 people and a light aircraft.

BBC News says it is GOL and that the Brazilian equivalent of the CAA says that its disappearance from radar is due to a collision with a small aircraft.

AP reports it was a flight from Manaus (MAO) to Brasilia (BSB).

Aircraft in question was a Gol B737-800, operating schedule service from Manaus to São Paulo, via Brasilia, and 155 souls on board (149 pax and six crew).

According my sources (someone inside Brazilian ATC) both planes were in level flight and collided, the other plane (initial reports show it as a Embraer Legacy operated by the military) managed to land on an Air Force Base with a big portion of the wing missing.

More to follow..

My thought with those souls and families..

The smaller aircraft has landed safely but with a damaged wing.

Gol Flight 1907, apparently a B737-800. Should have arrived in Brasilia over 3 hours ago, flying from Manaus, 155 pax onboard. Colision near Serra do Cachimbo, state of Para. According to news here, the light aircraft managed to land on a nearby airport. The 737-800 was seen flying low afterwards. Weather supposedly not good at the time.

Not that it really matters, but it was PR-GTD, a B737-800 delivered only a couple of weeks ago.

Officials: Plane carrying 155 disappears
 

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americ...eut/index.html

SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) -- Brazilian airline Gol said Friday it was trying to locate a passenger plane that disappeared from radar and failed to arrive at its destination.

TCAS?
 

Wouldn't a brand new 737-800 have TCAS ???

It takes two (transponders that is) to tango with TCAS - what about the other guy ?

The aircraft has been found, it's crashed on a remote farm in the Amazon.

If Broomstick has the right tail number...

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?i...ext_id=1115069

God bless them.

The reported 2nd a/c an Embraer Legacy would have also had TCAS.

According to this BBC article, both aeroplanes were equipped with TCAS and the collision was "inexplicable". Excerpt below.

I only bring it up because there is something eerily familiar here.

http://www.aeronautics.ru/news/news002/news053.htm

Chain Event
 

BBC report 'smaller aircraft' to be a Embaer Legacy (Brazilian aircraft similar to Learjet 45) which would have TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) mandated by ICAO to be fitted to all aircraft over 5700 kg or authorised to carry more than 19 passengers.

As with most aviation accidents the cause is likely to be a chain of events and failures leading to collision.

More about involved Embraer Legacy here, http://www.embraer.com.br/institucio...ation-I-06.pdf
Seem it also was brand new and on delivery to the US from Brazil by an US crew when it
collided with the Gol aircraft.

Dunno the big Lear numbers that well, but the Legacy is the bizjet version of the EMB135/140 series.
Click here for more.

Noting the earlier report that the Embraer was operated by the Brazilian military, I hope the rumours I've heard about mil jets not operating with TCAS aren't true.

They most certainly are...true, with many (but not all) types.
Surprised you didn't know, HW.:rolleyes:

From what I understand, the Legacy was on delivery to the US by US pilots
when it collided.
Also here´s a list in Portugese of the passengers on the Gol aircraft,
http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/Brasil/...5-5598,00.html