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Brazil crash report blames govt agencies -media
15 Nov 2008 17:03:42 GMT
 Source: Reuters
RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 15 (Reuters - A 16-month investigation into Brazil's worst airline accident that killed 199 people places most blame on government agencies for failing to ensure runway safety and could lead to criminal charges against officials, Brazilian media reported.

The report by the Sao Paulo Institute of Criminology into the July 2007 accident at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport will be delivered to state prosecutors.

All 187 people on board and 12 people on the ground died when the TAM Linhas Aereas <TAMM4.SA> <TAM.N> Airbus A320 skidded in heavy rain off a surface that had been repaved the previous month. Officials had tried to ban large jets from landing there but were unsuccessful.

The crash highlighted persistent safety concerns about the short, slick runways at Sao Paulo's aging domestic airport, which sits in the middle of South America's largest city.

The new surface had not been grooved to drain rainwater, prompting criticism that the airport was reopened prematurely because it is so important to Brazil's economy.

The report, details of which were published late on Friday on Brazilian newspaper Internet sites, blamed Infraero, the government body responsible for airport infrastructure, for failing to ensure adequate drainage on the runway.

It also blamed the National Civil Aviation Agency for not setting stricter rules for aircraft landing in the rain.

"The accident was caused by various omissions and negligence by the National Civil Aviation Agency, Infraero, the airline company and the aircraft manufacturer," public prosecutor Mario Luiz Sarrubbo told Globo television.

The report also blamed Airbus <EAD.PA> for not making obligatory an alarm warning about incorrect positioning of the aircraft's thruster controls.

The botched landing was partly due to the thrusters being on opposite settings, which the report said was due to pilot error and lack of training by TAM.

Brazil's public prosecution office was considering charges against 10 officials, Globo said.

Neither government agency was available for comment on Saturday. Media reported TAM had asked for a suspension of the prosecution process until it was decided whether the case would be heard at the federal or state level.

(Reporting by Stuart Grudgings; Editing by Alan Elsner)


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Last updated:Sat Nov 15 17:05:57 2008