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| Brazil Inspectors Say Boeing Had Midair Collision |
| 2006-10-02 |
| Brazilian officials investigating the Sept. 29 crash of a Boeing aircraft in which 155 people died said the plane collided with a corporate jet in midair before plunging into the Amazon jungle. A Legacy jet that was flying in the area at the time of the crash made an emergency landing after the passengers and crew felt a jolt, said Leonardo Mota Neto, a spokesman for Brazil's airport authority. A photo of the Legacy posted on Brazil's civil aviation agency's Web site shows the tip of one wing missing. ``The commission's initial conclusion is that there was a collision between the Legacy jet and the Boeing plane,'' Denise Abreu, director of the civil aviation agency, which set up a commission to investigate the crash, told reporters in Brasilia last night. ``It's not yet possible to say if the collision was because of equipment failures or pilot error.'' Data from the black box of the Legacy, which was made by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA, helped investigators reach their conclusion, Abreu said. Black boxes are crashworthy devices that record data about an aircraft's flight, such as airspeed, heading, and pilot procedures. Brazilian Airline The flight, operated by Brazilian airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, was on its way to the capital Brasilia from Manaus in the heart of the Amazon when it crashed in Mato Grosso state in central-western Brazil. Two unidentified bodies had been found and transported to a military base near the crash site, according to a statement posted last night on the Brazilian Air Force's Web site, which confirmed there were no survivors. Debris from the Boeing was scattered over an area of 20 square kilometers (7 square miles), the statement said. The search for bodies and debris, including the Boeing's black box, was hindered by the dense jungle surrounding the site of the crash. A 100-man force of army paratroopers, firemen and jungle-rescue troops had to be lowered from helicopters by rope to reach the wreckage, said Mota Neto There were 149 passengers and six crew members on board the Boeing Co. 737-800, which was delivered to the Sao Paulo-based airline on Sept. 12. The plane had logged only 234 hours of flight time, said Gol's Chief Executive Officer Constantino Oliveira Jr. The Legacy jet was en route to the U.S. from Embraer's headquarters at Sao Jose dos Campos near Sao Paulo, Mota Neto said. |
| Posted by:.com |
| #3 Serious question. Which Aircraft has the higher cruising speed? Did the Boeing hit the Legacy, or the other way around, it seems to me that the faster aircraft would be the one that was struck in the front, and the slower on the wing or from behind. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-10-02 20:09 |
| #2 Yeah, its curious. I guess if the tip connected with the cockpit window or the stabliser then it would be game over wi no time to radio 1000 to 0ne? |
| Posted by: bobsyeruncle 2006-10-02 18:31 |
| #1 A mid-air with a 737 and the little plane lives? Just the free air turbulence alone is enough to send a corporate jet down. Something just aint right with this. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-10-02 15:13 |