Associated Press, "Congress Wants U.S.
Pilots to Testify in Air Traffic Probe"
A congressional commission investigating Brazil's troubled air traffic
control system said Thursday it will ask two American pilots involved
in the South American country's deadliest air disaster to testify.
Lawmakers want to question Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino, both of
New York, who were flying an Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet when
it collided with Gol airlines Boeing 737 over the Amazon rain forest
on Sept. 29.
The Gol jet crashed, killing all 154 people aboard, while the Legacy
jet, owned by Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based ExcelAire, landed safely. The
disaster was a factor cited by air traffic controllers as they began
months of protests, complaining of precarious work conditions, that
caused slowdowns at airports nationwide. "Because the whole problem
with the air traffic controllers started with the accident we want
to hear from the pilots," the commission's president, Rep. Marcelo
Castro, said by phone from Brasilia.
Castro said
the commission was consulting with the Foreign Ministry to determine
whether the pilots could be compelled to testify in Brazil or if investigators
would have to travel to the United States. He said the pilots might be
able to testify in written depositions. Castro added the commission also
plans to ask the presidents of Gol airlines and ExcelAire to testify.
ExcelAire did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
