This just in, via AP:
SAO PAULO, Brazil - A plane carrying at least 150 people crashed after landing at Sao Paulo's Congonhas Airport Tuesday, Brazil's airport authority said.
The TAM airline's Airbus-320 skidded off the runway and crashed into buildings outside Congonhas airport, said Jose Leonardi Mota, a spokesman with airport authority Infraero.
Mota said the flight originated in the southern city of Porto Alegre.
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30 comments:
The whole thing is really sad. It's simply awful, considering that there was a similar incident yesterday.
And one in Florida where ground control cleared an airliner onto a runway while tower cleared another to land on the runway. Missed by under 30 feet. Total number of passengers 300.
I am really scared. The congonhas landing has problem since a long time ago. I do not know why they do not solve this problem. One more sad day to Brazil.
What a tragedy and shame. The runway @ Congonhas was resurfaced at the end of June. This airport opened before the jet age and its runways are relatively short for jet operations. The runway is scheduled to be grooved after the pavement cures by the end of July. Operations should be sharply curtailed during rain and flights diverted to Guarulhos, etc.
Economics surely prevailed.Imagine the human and the financial cost now!
That's the result of the corruption in INFRAERO (the state company that runs all the airports in Brazil) and overall in presidente Lula's government.
Mr. Sharkey, you are absolutely right about the enormous mess in pretty much all the brazilian airports these days. The brazilian government has been incompetent and irresponsible with this matter.
Now, I am sorry for going back to that horrible accident between Gol and Legacy aircrafts. Something else happened on the day you survived that accident. I know there is a lot of controversy involved, but you try to protect those two pilots like your president tries to protect the 'heroes' who are right now killing hundreds of innocent people in Iraq. Let the facts speak. The two pilots WILL NOT go to jail if they are innocent. It's true that they were held in Brazil for many days, but I wonder what would have happened if the accident had happened in the States and those pilots were from another country. But there is something else that I would like to point out, if I may: I still remember seeing you giving a happy interview to ABC or CBS or another one of these ultra-crappy TV networks in the US IMMEDIATELY after that tragedy that killed over a hundred people. Tell us, we need to know, how much did they pay you to do that? Obviously these networks couldn't care LESS about human beings, but still, you could have said "NO, not now". It sounded like the whole thing was just another adventure film. It sounded like it was just bad luck that those people got killed, but thanks to the good God things were fine and the show had to continue. Unfortunately, I saw your interview and it made me want to throw up. Life is a continuous learning curve. I wish you well, but I would like you to admit that your interview was totally inappropriate and insensitive.
Regards, Carlos
With our country mourning for the victims of this terrible accident, you use your status of looser to criticize and bring down our country.
You have no right to criticize Brazil because you are not Brazilian, only the Brazilians have that right.
You should worry about you own country instead of use this tragedy to show off.
If you are a journalist, then you should inform the facts and the fact is that 200 hundred people have lost their lives in Brazil…now stay in your country and talk about the war in Iraq and please, right your own stories.
To Carlos and Sandro:
What a bunch of idiots!! I'm so glad a few of the ignorant brazilians post to show their truly impressive knuckledragging ideologies that many hold here in Brazil.
Joe Sharkey, who nearly lost his life because of the incompetence and corruption of the brazilian gov't. and brazilian military running air traffic throughout brazil did not have the right to give an interview on tv concerning his personal experience in where HE nearly lost his life???
You are laughable my friend! And besides giving the interview, which wasn't disrespectful to anyone, dead or alive, you haven't stated as to "How" or "what was said" for you to categorize this interview as such.
Now, here is for the quote of the day.....a uniquely brazilian characteristic that I have been marveling at for a decade.
Sandro said:
You have no right to criticize Brazil because you are not Brazilian, only the Brazilians have that right.
And there it is, no human has the right to criticize brazil if he wasn't born in brazil!!! What planet are these people from?
Bo... you suck! Idiot!
Great response Luis!! (rolleyes)
I am Brazilian, I live in London, I am very sad with all that this happening in my country, innocent people are paying for our government's irresponsibility. You are right Joe, we have to criticize, who knows the government takes some responsible initiative before dies more innocent.
There was 186 peoble in the Airbus.
I Agree with Carlos!!
This is a time for brazilians to cry for their deaths and not to prove your innocence by trying to compare the failures in the accident you were involved to the ones in this awful new accident. As a serious journalist, you should wait for the results of both investigations and then write something that is really based on solid information.
Luis and Carlos, be brazilian doesn't mean to be blockhead. We know that the incompetence and corrupton of the governments of the past and the Lula's one are the responsible by the air traffic chaos that reigns in Brazil. How many people have to die and how many sad days we have to live to you see that? If we don't want to listen people criticize our country, let's do it better.
Be quiet your stupid!
Bangles like you make the world hate the North America!
Before talk bullshit get some real information. You do not have any information and speak. Here in Brasil you will to the jail.
But you do not accept the incompetence of he your 2 men!The legacy pilots!
Go to plant potatoes in the storm!
This analysis you made was completely unnecessary. Suffice to say the whole of Brazil is in chock once again with an air accident, your comments will not help anyone, including the families involved in this air accident and that of the previous one (in which you were involved).
This event comes a blow to a nation that wants to come to its feet after year of underdevelopment.
However, no one in Brazil cares about your comments; people all over the US will read it and take the wrong conclusions based on your biased view.
You survive a plane crash, go through it without a scratch and now you come with this mockery?
You make mockery of what is fresh enough in peoples mind, such as the accident over the Amazon forest let alone yesterday’s.
You’ve proved a point, fair enough the Brazilian air system is in shambles. Now what? Are you going to make the whole nation forget the lives of those who died in the accident? Are you going to provide the families with comfort and help? No!
You should keep your comments, views, cold sarcasm (which is often called black humour). Sod you, cold blooded avenging ***!
Stupid journalist!
Sinceramente o Senhor deve ter algum problema serio com o Brasil.
O acidente que ocorreu com o senhor aqui, ou qualquer outra coisa, não justifica a falta de consideração e de respeito que está tendo com os familiares das vítimas deste acidente que ocorreu ontem em nosso país, o senhor fala de antiamericanismo, mas instiga à naçao brasileira a ter raiva de americanos assim, que nos momentos mais frágeis, fazem questao de nos fazer sentir ainda pior, estamos passando por uma crise aérea sim e ao invés de criticar tanto, deveria ficar calado. Se tem este espaço na mídia, para divulgar sua opinião, fale sobre coisas produtivas; critique, mas nao humilhe; dê a noticia, mas não seja oportunista.
E se mesmo assim nao tiver o que falar, fique quieto.
Pelo menos não vai ferir ninguém, nem fazer com que cresça ainda mais o que o Senhor chama de antiamericanismo.
Boa tarde!
Oh my friend, i have a lesson for you, lesson that maybe you do not have well assimilated in your entire life: Respect the moment, respect the suffering of the victim's familys. My country is shocked, the world is shocked and we have no time to wast with your ridiculous coerce. The brazilian people have a big big big trouble to solve, and our people will take the responsability to avoid that more inocent people dies in our planes, not you.
Sorry for my poor english.
Anyone how knows something about aviation would see that it is impossible that this plane skidded off the runway. It didn't! It couldn't jump over the cars in the avenue! I leave close to Congonhas and nothing that is been said is true. It was a human or a mechanical problem. You will see soon. The lack of grooving didn't cause the accident.
I wish to complement, that Joe Sharkey is wrong in his comentaries. His fellows of the Legacy plane were guilty on turning off the transponder, and nothing could be done to avoid the crash. This accident could happen even in USA. And the TAM accident was caused by the plane and his crue and not by the runway conditions(you will see soon, wait, this accident was near my window).
To Bo,
We Brazilians Can criticize our government, you can not.
Inform the facts without critics, this is called journalism.
You called me a blockhead. Hehe!
You most be very smart and successful American, Am I right?
“Blockhead” Is a word to describe Americans not Brazilians.
Sandro:
I absolutely CAN criticize the brazilian gov't. and Brazil is I see fit. And it's not because my child is a brazilian, it's not because I am a partner in brazilian businesses and pay brazilian taxes, it's because I have the RIGHT of FREE SPEECH, and I can criticize ANYONE, ANYPLACE, and ANYTHING I see fit!!!
That's the way it is in the U.S.A my friend. I guess we should start calling Brazil "Tropical Russia"?
We can clearly distinguish via comments who lives abroad and who still lives in Brazil - the knuckleheads. And also, who is right wing and all the left wings supporters of president Lulla.
Bo, you're right. Lulla wants to do the same as Colonel Chavez: shut everybody's mouth up. That's their goal.
I can and I will say bad things about Brazil, because I am Brazilian. I advised all my friends today NOT GO TO Brazil at all, since they are risking their lives. We do not deserve this government, that's the truth.
Well, I'm Brazilian (and I'm in Porto Alegre where we are really sad - and ANGRY - about the accident) but I believe (and hope) I may criticize any other country because we have freedom of speech. Also, although I do not necessarily agree with Sharkey on the American pilots (I think everyone involved is guilty at some degree) he is telling the truth about our system: we must redesign it from scracth. We must "demilitarize" it and improve our radars, systems and processes.
I'm really angry about what happened. It could have been avoided, everybody knew about the problem. It's unbelievable. It seems that people here in Brazil (mostly government, but in the end every one of us) do NOT value life as we should. For instance, we still do not require car seats for our children; some of our tourist attractions do not have enough protection (have you been to the Foz do Iguaçu falls?). Fire protection and fire retardants here are unheard of. And I could go on and on.
By the way, I will never fly to Congonhas anymore if I can avoid it.
Hello everyone! First I would like to deeply express my condolences to victims and their families, may God Bless each and everyone of you.
Well I,m profoundly ashamed with the political mess in my home country, I wish they would be more true with the population, and really look after the country's matters/interests. I.e the senate's president Mr Renan Calheiros is accused/involved deeply in corruption,and money deviation, tax evasion and the list goes on. Then he turns around and a legates "it's all MEDIA PERSECUTION". Unbelievable! He is undergoing CPI (Commission Parliamentary Investigation)and the reality is: at the end, just before being condemned for his outrages offenses he will resign. meaning that he will not be condemned and therefore will one day (on the next election) be able to be run elections again. And the people will fall once again as a lot of public money is used to persuade the badly informed, poorly educated majority of people will vote once more one a corrupt politician to defend their rights (& you tell me, how this corrupt politician will ever defend any public interest or right All he does is defend his own selfish interests. That is so true that 3 weeks ago Mr. Joaquim Roriz (former Senator from Brasilia) resigned while being investigated for not being able to declare a cheque of around R$2.2m (about $1.1m)from a president of GOl Linhas Aereas (Brazilian airline). The explanation given by our illustrative senator was: "I borrowed the money to by a calf and to help a cousin". WOW what a wonderful explanation (I'm deeply touched by gesture of kindness to a cousin in need).
This shows that we live in a Country run by selfish bananas! & therefore the whole system is in such a mess.
I completely agree with Joe Sharkey's comments against our politicians and the reason they don't like his comments, probably is because it hurts to see that the people on the other side of the fence can see bigger picture (the political mess).
Keep up the good work Joe.
Hello Joe
You should see the front page of Brazils biggest and most respected newspaper, "O Estado de Sao Paulo" that came out this saturday:
Brazils Air Force Commander pinning a medal on the chest of the chief of the "ANAC" ( Brazils National Agency of Air Traffic , or something like that).
Makes me wonder how the relatives of the victims of the crash are feeling when they see the picture !
Its flabbergasting !
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