Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Wreckage of Gol 1907 in Amazon jungle |
|
| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 29, 2006 |
| Type | mid-air collision[1] |
| Site | , 200 km (120 miles) east of Peixoto de Azevedo, Mato Grosso, Brazil |
| Fatalities | 154 |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-800 SFP |
| Operator | Gol Transportes Aéreos |
| Tail number | PR-GTD |
| Passengers | 148 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Aircraft type | Embraer Legacy 600 |
| Operator | ExcelAire (delivery flight) |
| Tail number | N600XL |
| Passengers | 5 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Survivors | 7 (all) |
Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 was a Boeing 737-800 SFP, registration PR-GTD, on a scheduled passenger flight from Manaus, Brazil to Rio de Janeiro, with a planned stop in Brasília on September 29, 2006. While flying over the Amazon in Brazilian center-western state of Mato Grosso, it collided with an Embraer Legacy business jet and crashed in an area of dense rainforest vegetation, 200 kilometers (120 miles) east of the municipality of Peixoto de Azevedo. All 154 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing were killed, while the slightly damaged Embraer was able to land safely with its seven occupants uninjured. This became the worst accident in Brazilian aviation history, surpassing Vasp Flight 168, which crashed in 1982 with 137 fatalities near Fortaleza.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Boeing aircraft and crew
The Gol Boeing 737-800 aircraft, a new Short Field Performance variant,[3][4] had been delivered to Gol on September 12, 2006 and had only logged 234 hours of operation prior to the accident flight.[5][6]
There were 148 passengers (144 Brazilians and one each, French, German, Portuguese and American) and 6 crew members on board the Boeing.[7][8][9] The crew consisted of Captain Decio Chaves Jr., 44, First Officer Thiago Jordão Cruso, 29, as well as 4 flight attendants. The captain had 14,900 flight hours (3,900 of them on a 737NG), and was also a flight instructor for Gol. The first officer had 3,850 flight hours.[10][11] The accident was the first that resulted in the hull loss of a 737-800 (and the 737-600+ series as a whole), as well as the first that involved passenger or crew fatalities for that aircraft type.[12]
[edit] Embraer aircraft and crew
The newly built Embraer Legacy 600 business jet, serial number 14500965 and registration N600XL,[13][14] owned and operated by ExcelAire Service Inc., a Ronkonkoma, New York-based company, was on a delivery flight to the U.S. via a planned enroute stop in Manaus.[15][16] It departed from São José dos Campos Regional Airport (IATA code: SJK), near São Paulo, and was on its way to Manaus when it collided with Gol Flight 1907 in mid air. The flight crew consisted of Captain Joseph Lepore, 42, and First Officer Jan Paul Paladino, 34, both U.S. citizens.[17][18][19] The Italian-born[20] Captain Lepore had been a commercial pilot for more than 20 years, and had logged more than 8,000 flight hours. First Officer Paladino had been a commercial pilot for a decade, and had accumulated more than 6,400 flight hours. Both pilots were legally qualified to fly the Embraer Legacy as captain.[21]
The five passengers consisted of two Embraer employees, two ExcelAire executives, and New York Times business travel columnist Joe Sharkey, who was writing a special report for a magazine specializing in corporate jets.[22][23] Sharkey reported to the New York Times that "the Legacy jet stabilized after the apparent collision until it landed at [the Brigadeiro Velloso] Brazilian air force base in the Amazon state of Pará".[24] There were no reported injuries on the Embraer jet. Brazilian Air Force and ANAC (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil) officials reportedly interviewed the Embraer crew and passengers for 5 hours, and the two "black boxes" (CVR and FDR) aboard the Embraer were removed and sent to São José dos Campos, São Paulo for analysis.[22]
According to Sharkey,[25] the crew and passengers were detained by Brazilian aviation authorities and police for 36 hours, and questioned intensively, after their "emergency landing at some formerly top-secret air base deep in the Amazon jungle".
On October 2, the Embraer's Captain and First Officer were ordered by the Mato Grosso Justice Tribunal to relinquish their passports pending further investigation. The request, made by the Peixoto de Azevedo prosecutor,[26] was granted by judge Tiago Sousa Nogueira e Abreu, who stated that the possibility of pilot error on the part of the Embraer crew could not yet be ruled out.[27]
[edit] Collision
|
|
Boeing southeast bound |
|
|
Embraer northwest bound |
Initial reports suggested that the Boeing airliner and the Embraer business jet collided in mid-air, near the town of Matupá[29][30] (470 miles south of Manaus).[31] The Embraer landed safely at the Brigadeiro Velloso Brazilian Air Force base, despite some damage to the left horizontal stabilizer and left winglet.[32] While subsequent statements from local authorities mentioned that they were unable to determine with certainty that the incidents were related, the information given to the Air Force by the pilot of the Embraer jet makes a collision the most likely cause for the accident.[15][33] There were reports ATC lost contact (both radio and secondary radar) with the Embraer shortly before the collision.[34]
According to reports, the Embraer flight crew submitted an initial deposition, during which they testified that they were cleared to FL370 (flight level 370, approximately 37,000 feet (about 11 km) above mean sea level) by Brasilia ATC, and were level at that assigned altitude when the apparent collision occurred. It was also asserted by the Embraer flight crew that at the time of the collision they had lost contact with Brasilia ATC, and their anti-collision system did not alert them to any oncoming traffic.[35][19]
Passenger/Journalist Joe Sharkey also confirmed the apparent collision altitude. In his New York Times article titled "Colliding With Death at 37,000 Feet, and Living",[17] filed on October 1, 2006, Sharkey reported:
And it had been a nice ride. Minutes before we were hit, I had wandered up to the cockpit to chat with the pilots, who said the plane was flying beautifully. I saw the readout that showed our altitude: 37,000 feet. I returned to my seat. Minutes later came the strike (it sheared off part of the plane’s tail, too, we later learned).
Sources say that one eye-witness, a local farmer, reported seeing a large commercial aircraft flying low in the Cachimbo Mountain Range area of Pará. Other witnesses reported seeing or hearing an explosion, but their reports are unconfirmed.[36] Reports said that the last contact with the aircraft was at 16:50 local time (19:50 UTC) near the remote town of São Félix do Araguaia, Pará.
[edit] Recovery operation
The Brazilian Air Force sent 5 fixed wing aircraft and 3 helicopters to the region, one of which equipped with a magnetic anomaly detector, for an extensive search and rescue operation. As many as 200 personnel were reported to be involved in the operation, among them a group of Kayapo indians familiar with the forest.[37] The crash site of Gol Flight 1907 was spotted on 30 September by Brazilian Air Force authorities, at coordinates ,[38] 200 km (120 miles) east of Peixoto de Azevedo in the Jarinã farm area.[39] It was reported that rescue personnel had difficulty reaching the crash site due to the dense forest. Infraero at first indicated the possibility of five survivors, but a later statement from the Air Force, based on data collected by Air Force personnel who rappelled (abseiled) to the crash site and local authorities confirms that there are no survivors.[40] Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has declared three days of national mourning.[41]
The flight data recorder and a non-data part of the cockpit voice recorder from the Boeing 737 were found on October 2, 2006 and handed over to the investigators, who sent them to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) for analysis.[42] On October 25, 2006, after almost 4 weeks of intensive searching under harsh conditions in the jungle by numerous personnel equipped with metal detectors, the Boeing's cockpit voice recorder's memory module was finally found. The module was discovered intact, separated from other wreckage pieces, embedded in about 20 cm of soil, and was also sent for analysis by the TSB in Canada.[43][44]
On October 4, the rescue crews began moving the bodies to the temporary base established at the nearby Jarinã farm. The Air Force deployed a C-115 Buffalo aircraft to transport the bodies to Brasília for identification.[45] On November 16, 2006, nearly fifty days after the crash, search and rescue operations were called off, the remains of 153 of the 154 victims having been located and identified.[46]
[edit] Initial investigation
On October 9, 2006 a facsimile copy of the Embraer's originally filed flight plan was released by the news media.[47] The flight plan consisted of flying at FL370 up to Brasilia, on airway UW2, followed by a planned descent at Brasilia to FL360, proceeding outbound from Brasilia northwest-bound along airway UZ6 to the 'Teres' fix,[48] an aeronautical way point located 282 nm (324 miles, 522 km) northwest of Brasilia, where a climb to FL380 was planned. According to the filed flight plan, the Embraer was to have been level at FL380, proceeding towards Manaus, while passing the eventual collision point, which was about 307 km northwest of Teres.
The Legacy crew asserted in their depositions that they were cleared by ATC to FL370 for the entire trip, all the way to Manaus.[49][50] This assertion was confirmed on November 3, 2006, when ATC communication transcripts leaked to the press showed that the initial pre-takeoff IFR clearance given to the Legacy was "N600XL, Clear, 370, Manaus", clearing the Legacy to climb and maintain FL370 all the way to Manaus, and superseding the altitudes filed in the original flight plan.[51][52]
The leaked ATC communication transcript included another apparent opportunity for air traffic control to verify or modify the Legacy's altitude, as when it crossed Brasilia, the Legacy was handed off to another controller, where upon initial contact the Legacy stated "N600XL at 370, Good afternoon." The controller responded by asking the Legacy to activate the "Ident" function on the transponder, followed by the controller confirming the radar contact, without questioning the altitude, which was FL370.[53][54]
Despite the clarification for the Legacy's altitude, no findings have been made public as to the reported loss of ATC's radio communication with the Legacy and/or loss of its transponder signal or the events that followed. Also, no official ATC communication transcripts have been released to date.
[edit] Preliminary factual report
A preliminary factual report was released by the Brazilian Aviation Accident Investigation and Prevention Center (Centro de Investigação e Prevenção de Acidentes Aeronáuticos, CENIPA) on November 16, 2006, and presented in a news conference by Col. Rufino Antonio da Silva Ferreira, head of the Inquiry Division and president of CENIPA's Flight 1907 Accident Investigation Commission.[55] The preliminary report focuses on the known facts to date: the Legacy's original flight plan called for an altitude of FL370 to Brasilia, FL360 to Teres and FL380 to Manaus. Gol 1907's flight plan called for an altitude of FL370 to Brasilia. The collision occurred at 16:56:54 at FL370 and it was confirmed that neither TCAS system had activated or alerted its respective crew, nor did any crew see the opposing traffic visually prior to the collision.
Neither the ATC communication transcripts, nor the CVR (cockpit voice recorder) transcripts are included in this preliminary report. Transcripts of the pre-takeoff clearances obtained and read back by the flight crews and/or any subsequent enroute clearances or instructions are also not included.
After presenting the report at the news conference, Col. da Silva Ferreira said that "at this moment, any conclusion will be premature," and that it is still not possible to say "that one thing caused the accident."[56]
[edit] Legal action
On November 6, 2006, the families of ten of the deceased filed a lawsuit for negligence against ExcelAire and Honeywell, alleging that the Legacy pilots were flying at an 'incorrect altitude' and that the Honeywell transponder was not functioning at the time of the collision.[57] Other suits were subsequently filed on behalf of other victims, with similar allegations against Excelaire and Honeywell.[58]
The attorney representing the Legacy crew, Miami based Robert Torricella, responded to the allegation that the crew was flying at an 'incorrect altitude' by stating that according to international regulations, clearances and directives issued by ATC supersede a previously filed flight plan, and in this case:[59]
"...the flight plan cleared by air traffic control at the time of departure required the Legacy to fly all the way to Manaus at 37,000 feet and, absent contrary directives from air traffic control, the Legacy was obligated to follow its cleared flight plan. As the findings of the investigation are made public, we are confident that ExcelAire's pilots will be exonerated."
A Honeywell spokesperson stated that "Honeywell is not aware of any evidence that indicates that its transponder on the Embraer Legacy was not functioning as designed or that Honeywell was responsible for the accident."[60]
[edit] See also
- Vasp Flight 168
- Varig Flight 254 - a crash in same general area, where Cachimbo Air Base could have been used for emergency landing
- Air Kazakhstan Flight 1907 - Coincidence of another 'Flight 1907', also a mid-air collision, 10 years prior, over India. All 349 people aboard both aircraft were killed, the deadliest mid-air collision in aviation history.
- List of notable accidents and incidents on commercial aircraft
[edit] References
- ^ "Diretora da Anac confirma colisão entre avião da Gol e jato Legacy", Folha Online, 2006-10-01. Retrieved on 2006-10-01. (in Portuguese)
- ^ ASN Aircraft accident description Boeing 727-212 PP-SRK - Sierra de Pacatuba, CE. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2006-09-30.
- ^ Boeing 737 Design Enhancements Earn FAA Certification. Boeing (2006-07-27). Retrieved on 2006-09-30.
- ^ Guerra, Flávio (2006-09-16). Airliners.net Photos: Gol Transportes Aereos Boeing 737-8EH. Airliners.net. Retrieved on 2006-09-30.
- ^ "Officials: Plane carrying 155 disappears", CNN, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2006-09-30.
- ^ "Brazilian jet carrying 155 missing", MSNBC, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2006-09-30.
- ^ "GOL CORRIGE LISTA DE PASSAGEIROS E NÚMERO DE MORTOS CAI PARA 154", October 5, 2006. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "U.S. pilots may face manslaughter charge in Brazil crash", CNN, October 4, 2006.
- ^ "Gol divulga lista de passageiros do vôo 1907", Folha Online, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2006-09-30. (in Portuguese)
- ^ Passenger Destination and Crew Profile Flight 1907 Advisory #6 (Gol Press Advisory) (September 30, 2006).
- ^ "Saiba mais sobre os passageiros e tripulantes que estavam no vôo 1907", Folha SP, October 5, 2006.
- ^ Aviation Safety Network Accident Database, by type.
- ^ Pictures of damaged Legacy aircraft. DAC (2006-10-01). Retrieved on 2006-10-01.
- ^ Embraer confirms it believes Legacy was involved in Gol Boeing 737 collision. Flight International (2006-09-30). Retrieved on 2006-09-30.
- ^ a b ""Bati em alguma coisa", diz piloto do Legacy", Globo, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2006-09-30. (in Portuguese)
- ^ Sequera, Vivian. "Brazilian authorities find missing airliner carrying 155 people", News1130, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2006-09-30.
- ^ a b "Colliding With Death at 37,000 Feet, and Living", New York Times, October 1, 2006.
- ^ "Ocupantes do Legacy dizem ter sentido impacto", Globo, 2006-10-01. Retrieved on 2006-10-01. (in Portuguese)
- ^ a b PILOTO DO LEGACY DIZ QUE TORRE AUTORIZOU ALTITUDE DE VÔO. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
- ^ ""ME FALAM DESDE DOMINGO QUE ELE VOLTA AMANHÃ", DIZ PAI DO PILOTO", Globo, 2006-10-04. Retrieved on 2006-10-04. (in Portuguese)
- ^ U.S. pilots may face manslaughter charge in Brazil crash. CNN (October 4, 2006).
- ^ a b Tourinho, Gustavo. "Caixas-pretas do Legacy chegam a São José dos Campos para perícia (Legacy's black boxes arrive in São Jose Dos Campos for analysis)", 2006-10-01. Retrieved on 2006-10-01. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "Brazilian Authorities Suspect No Survivors From Jet That Crashed Carrying 155 People", Fox News, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2006-09-30.
- ^ "Rescuers struggle to reach crash site in dense Amazon forest, little hope of survivors", North County Times, 2006-10-02. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
- ^ Joe Sharkey at Large - "Astonished to Be Alive..." (October 2, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
- ^ "Pilotos do Legacy estão proibidos de deixar o Brasil", Ministério Público do Estado de Mato Grosso, 2006-10-02. Retrieved on 2006-10-02. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "Justiça manda apreender passaportes de pilotos do Legacy", Folha Online, 2006-10-02. Retrieved on 2006-10-02. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "Quadro mostra as hipóteses sobre a colisão dos aviões", October 3, 2006. (in Portuguese)
- ^ Matupá, Brazil - Google Maps. Google Maps. Retrieved on 2006-09-30.
- ^ "Avião da Gol Desaparece na Região de Matupá, em Mato Grosso", Globo, 2006-09-29. Retrieved on 2006-09-30. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "Embraer divulga nota sobre acidente que envolveu uma da suas aeronaves", O Globo Online, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2006-09-30. (in Portuguese)
- ^ NTSB Preliminary Synopsis. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
- ^ "FAB Mantém buscas por avião desaparecido", Globo, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2006-09-30. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "LEGACY FICOU FORA DO RADAR POR 15 MINUTOS E RECEBEU 5 ALERTAS", G1.com.br, 2006-10-05. Retrieved on 2006-10-06. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "Legacy estava sem contato com a torre de controle", Folha Online, October 3, 2006.
- ^ "Avião da Gol caiu na Vertical, diz Infraero", O Globo Online, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2006-09-30. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "Índios ajudam a resgatar vítimas de acidente com avião, o pior ocorrido no Brasil", Folha Online, 2006-10-01. Retrieved on 2006-10-01. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "Não há sobreviventes em acidente com o avião da Gol, diz Aeronáutica", Folha Online, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2006-09-30. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "Destroços de avião da Gol indicam queda vertical", Folha Online, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2006-09-30. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "FAB diz que não há sobreviventes", Globo, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2006-09-30. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "Lula declara luto nacional", Globo, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2006-09-30. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "Aeronáutica encontra caixas-pretas do Boeing da Gol (Air Force recovers black boxes from Gol Boeing)", Globo, 2006-10-02. Retrieved on 2006-10-02. (in Portuguese)
- ^ Gravador de Voz - Vôo 1907. ANAC. Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
- ^ Últimas informações sobre as caixas pretas e o trabalho da comissão de investigação (Portuguese). Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (2006-10-03). Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
- ^ Brazilian Air Force press release (Portuguese). Força Aérea Brasileira (Brazilian Air Force) (2006-10-04). Retrieved on 2006-10-04.
- ^ "Aeronáutica encerra buscas por último corpo de vítima de vôo 1907", Folha Online, November 16, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-17. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "PLANO DE VÔO MOSTRA QUE LEGACY ESTAVA NA ALTITUDE ERRADA", October 9, 2006.
- ^ The Teres fix is located on airway UZ6 at coordinates 12°28.5'S, 51°22.1'W, see: Image:DOD-H4.pdf
- ^ "Para Infraero, Legacy descumpriu plano de vôo", October 9, 2006.
- ^ "Depoimentos mostram contradições no acidente aéreo", October 10, 2006. (in Portuguese)
- ^ Tavares, Bruno. "Para oficiais, contato com Legacy foi impreciso, não incorreto", O Estado de S. Paulo, November 3, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-03. (in Portuguese)
- ^ "Pilots reportedly given wrong information in crash that killed 154", Associated Press, November 3, 2006.
- ^ Cantanhêde, Eliane. "Caixa-preta de Legacy revela que torre errou", Folha Online, November 2, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-03. (in Portuguese)
- ^ BILL BLEYER. "Pilots' account verified", Newsday.com, November 4, 2006.
- ^ Flight 1907 Preliminary Report (PPT in Portuguese). Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
- ^ BILL BLEYER AND MARTIN C. EVANS. "Brazilian officials: Crash investigation will take 10 more months", Newsday.com, November 16, 2006.
- ^ "US firms sued over Brazil crash", BBC, November 6, 2006.
- ^ "2nd lawsuit filed in Brazil air disaster", Business Week Online, November 10, 2006.
- ^ "ExcelAire: Lawsuits Regarding Gol Jet Accident Premature", aero-news.net, November 9, 2006.
- ^ "Lawyers for Brazil air crash victims file suit in New York City", International Herald Tribune, November 6, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Video showing crash site and wreckage, from Globo.com
- First images of crash site from Brazilian Civil Aviation Authority
- Images of damaged Legacy aircraft, from Brazilian Civil Aviation Authority
- Images of crash site from Brazilian Civil Aviation Authority
- Map of crash site from Google Maps
- Cachimbo Air Base from Google Maps
- Cachimbo Air Base Web Site
- ASN database entry
