RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil_Some of Brazil's biggest airlines on Tuesday ordered pilots not to land when it is raining at Rio de Janeiro's domestic airport, rulings made after 199 people were killed last month when a jetliner crashed in Sao Paulo in wet conditions.
TAM Linhas Aereas SA, Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA and VRG Linhas Aereas SA, or Varig, said they were responding to an alert from the Department for Airspace Control.
"The note to pilots says that the runway of Santos Dumont is slippery when wet," said a TAM press officer who asked not to be identified in accordance with company policy. "So TAM ordered its pilots not to land there in the rain."
Flights bound for the airport in the rain will be rerouted to Rio's international airport, he said.
On July 17, a TAM Airbus A320 crashed and exploded in flames in Sao Paulo, killing all 187 people aboard and 12 on the ground in the nation's deadliest air disaster. Experts have said the short, slippery runway at Congonhas airport contributed to the tragedy, and TAM pilots also have received special instructions for landing at Congonhas in the rain.
"Congonhas is a little different," the TAM officer said. "Pilots are not to land on the main runway on rainy days while the grooving is still not ready." Deep grooves are expected to be cut into the tarmac to increase the grip of plane tires.
