Brazil's Turbulent Airline Biz

São Paulo-based BRA suspended all operations as it struggles to find financing. Currently Brazil is left with TAM and Gol/Varig, both of which have had their own issues.

8 Dead in New Crash

Officials of Reali were not immediately available for comment on the crash of the Learjet 35 on Sunday. It was raining at the time, but not badly; the cause of the crash is unknown.

The private jet can carry up to 10 passengers. The first three victims identified were not passengers.

Sao Paulo Crash Sunday Nov 4

Reali Taxi Aero's small executive Learjet 35 took off in the rain at 14:10 local from Campo de Marte Airport in Sao Paulo and crashed into a house in the Casa Verde neighborhood half a kilometre from the runway after taking off. Eight people died; the bodies of four men, three women and a baby were found in the plane wreckage.

Three others were rescued, including Claudia Lima Fernandes, 30,who was badly burned, and an 11 year old girl.

Other neighborhood houses had to be evacuated and are being evaluated for safety.

Witnesses said that the jet, which took off from Campo de Marte for Rio de Janeiro, ploughed nose first into the houses when it seemed to attempt a return to the airport.

This was Sao Paulo's second large air tragedy this year. On July 17, a TAM Airbus crashed while landing at the Congonhas airport, killing 199 people.

São Paulo is known for its large helicopter fleet. Businessmen often fly the vast city by helicopter to avoid traffic and security threats .However last Monday three helicopters crashed in Sao Paulo in two hours.

Three people died. Five days earlier, after having mechanical problems, an air force plane crashed north of Sao Paulo, There were no casualties.

Chairman Resigns!

At a press conference Oct 31 in Brasília, Board Chairman Milton Zuanazzi, the last remaining member of ANAC's former board of directors of the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) announced his resignation from the board.

Zuanazz based his decision on claims that the National Civil Aviation Agency was the “scapegoat” for Brazil's current air crisis.

He said publicly that he “would not like to work” with Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, a position which is certainly understandable since Jobim has been trying to remove him since July.

He delayed his resignation to the current time to allow Jobim to find new directors. Zuanazzi says that Jobim is not well-informed about Brazil's aviation system, and classifies some of his proposals as "reckless." The last straw was Defense Minister Nelson Jobim's proposal to increase the required distance between airplane seats. Doing so would force carriers to raise fares, Zuanazzi said.

One wonders how raising the distance between airplane seats will increase the safety factor, which is at the root of the whole aviation problem in Brazil.

Zuanazz recommends Civil Aviation Secretary Solange Paiva Vieira to be his replacement.

Tam Air Threatens Football's Future

Fifa, football's world governing body has awarded the 2014 tournament to Brazil--a brave move, considering that Brazil's justice ministry has recorded 150 murders per day in Brazil, and the state of Brazil's aviation industry is less than stellar.

Currently it only takes a brief thunderstorm in Sao Paulo to knock out Brazil's domestic air system. Congonhas airport must shut during storms, which has a domino effect.

Two major crashes occurred in the past 13 months:

Gol-In September last year- 155 people died when a Boeing 737-800 operated by domestic company Gol collided with an executive jet

Tam-In July,- 187 people were killed when an Airbus A320 overshot the runway at Congonhas.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is quoted as saying "Our aviation system, in spite of the investments we have made in expansion and modernisation, is passing through difficulties."

An overland journey from Rio de Janeiro to Manaus takes 60 hours on a bus to Belem, followed by several days on a boat down the Amazon river. There is no astrobus.