Stranding passengers got a taste of Brazil.
Political cronyism to chronic underfunding in Brazil's aviation system are considered as possible contributors to two major air disasters in less than a year––followed by a major radar failure over the Amazon.
For about three hours, air traffic controllers closed Brazilian air space.
An Airbus 320 operated by TAM Airlines crashed Tuesday at Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo, killing all 187 people aboard and at least four on the ground. Jorge Botelho, president of Brazil's union representing air traffic controllers, on Sunday ridiculed the possibility of sabotage. He said that the government wants to blame the controllers to avoid responsibility for systemic air safety problems.
Brazilians have been suffering flight delays and cancellations since September, when a Gol Airlines Boeing 737 collided with an executive jet and crashed in the Amazon rainforest killing 154 people. Four air traffic controllers and the executive jet's two American pilots, face criminal charges.
The accident touched off months of delays and canceled flights, as air traffic controllers held work slowdowns and stoppages to protest precarious conditions.
Brazil's airports are seriously underfunded and stretched to the limit.
"There have been warnings, warnings, warnings about the need to do something about the communications systems, about the runways," Brazilian aviation consultant Elias Gedeon said. "The government didn't understand the importance of this. This is very bad for Brazil."
Problems stretch back at least five years. Spending on aviation safety has averaged about $250 million a year since Silva took office in 2003, half of what was spent in 2002.
That the government has doled out top aviation posts to political appointees with little or no expertise in the field. The government spent millions to renovate the terminal at Congonhas airport. Tarmac improvements were saved for last and the runway was reopened before the renovation could be completed.
On Sunday, Amaury Guedes, a 72-year-old retired flight attendant, summed up the feelings of many Brazilians. "It was a tragedy waiting to happen because the planes kept growing, the wide bodies, and the runways were never extended to handle them," Guedes said. "There are just too many passengers, and infrastructure hasn't kept up with the growth."
About Me
A Note about Tam
TAM is a huge airline with all the resources necessary to have assigned human beings to notify families of their dead.
Such a notification would be painful, indeed, more than words can describe.
But even worse, imagine going on the internet, reviewing the manifest that was made available to the public within hours and finding your mom’s name or your mom and dad’s name or your wife, or your husband.
Imagine that for a moment.
Imagine that days go by and no one from TAM makes any personal notifications to families. No one calls, no one connects on a one on one basis.
What were they thinking when they released the manifest to the public prior to any attempt of locating the next of kin?
TAM, fire the person or persons who made the decision to release the manifest.
Get your act together.
Have a plan in place.
Have people who can be on call immediately to handle these matters.
No matter what you end up paying the family for their losses, they will never forget how they learned about the death of their loved ones.
Shame on you, TAM
----------------------
How about giving a choice to a passenger about boarding a plane that has 1/3 of its braking system disabled.
In the Tam crash of July 2007, all parties agree that the right thrust reverser was disabled. They defend that position by stating that the documentation for an Airbus A320 allows the plane to fly for up to 10 days with a disabled thruster(s).
So let's say that Tam had let everyone that was boarding that plane know about the thrust reverser. Let's say they had even played down the importance of having it operational. Had the passengers known about the disabled thruster, and had they known that it compliments the braking system, what would they have done?
It is possible that not all the passengers would have boarded. Some probably would have transferred to another flight, or would have gone home and waited for another day. But no one was given that notice.
Think about it: the wheel brakes, the wing flaps and the thrust reverser are the breaking system for an airbus a320. I'm not certain that even a seasoned flyer as I am that I would have gone on board knowing that part of the breaking system was not functional.
Mandatory warnings should be required when a plane with broken, flawed, or partially disabled systems is used as if functioning at 100%. Speaking personally on my own behalf, I believe this warning issue–or failure to warn issue–should be legally addressed.
If only one person had not boarded that plane, that would have been one less fatality.
For More of George Hatcher, visit the following links:
Such a notification would be painful, indeed, more than words can describe.
But even worse, imagine going on the internet, reviewing the manifest that was made available to the public within hours and finding your mom’s name or your mom and dad’s name or your wife, or your husband.
Imagine that for a moment.
Imagine that days go by and no one from TAM makes any personal notifications to families. No one calls, no one connects on a one on one basis.
What were they thinking when they released the manifest to the public prior to any attempt of locating the next of kin?
TAM, fire the person or persons who made the decision to release the manifest.
Get your act together.
Have a plan in place.
Have people who can be on call immediately to handle these matters.
No matter what you end up paying the family for their losses, they will never forget how they learned about the death of their loved ones.
Shame on you, TAM
----------------------
How about giving a choice to a passenger about boarding a plane that has 1/3 of its braking system disabled.
In the Tam crash of July 2007, all parties agree that the right thrust reverser was disabled. They defend that position by stating that the documentation for an Airbus A320 allows the plane to fly for up to 10 days with a disabled thruster(s).
So let's say that Tam had let everyone that was boarding that plane know about the thrust reverser. Let's say they had even played down the importance of having it operational. Had the passengers known about the disabled thruster, and had they known that it compliments the braking system, what would they have done?
It is possible that not all the passengers would have boarded. Some probably would have transferred to another flight, or would have gone home and waited for another day. But no one was given that notice.
Think about it: the wheel brakes, the wing flaps and the thrust reverser are the breaking system for an airbus a320. I'm not certain that even a seasoned flyer as I am that I would have gone on board knowing that part of the breaking system was not functional.
Mandatory warnings should be required when a plane with broken, flawed, or partially disabled systems is used as if functioning at 100%. Speaking personally on my own behalf, I believe this warning issue–or failure to warn issue–should be legally addressed.
If only one person had not boarded that plane, that would have been one less fatality.
For More of George Hatcher, visit the following links:
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