Union Calls for Release of American Airlines Pilots Held in Brazil

The American Airlines pilots' union called for the release of two U.S. pilots who have been barred from leaving Brazil since their plane collided with a Brazilian commercial carrier in what was that country's worst air disaster.

The Allied Pilots Association issued a statement Tuesday calling on the Brazilian government to conduct a "full, fair and timely investigation" into the cause of the Sept. 29 collision between a Gol Airlines Boeing 737 and a Embraer Legacy 600 piloted by two U.S. citizens, Capt. Joseph Lepore and First Officer Jan Paladino. All 154 people on board the Gol flight were killed, while the none of the seven people on board the Legacy were injured.

The statement also asks that Lepore and Paladino be allowed to return to the U.S. and requests U.S. government intervention in the case.

Twice during the last week, a Brazilian judge has refused to return the passports of the two men, and a Brazilian Air Force spokesman said an investigation into the crash could take another 10 months. While the men are not under arrest, they have chosen to remain in their Rio de Janeiro hotel.

Brazilian prosecutors said they could charge the pilots with involuntary manslaughter if they are found responsible for the crash. The men, however, have denied any wrongdoing.

The investigation is being conducted as a criminal proceeding in Brazil, which is unusual, said Lisa Hendrickson, a spokeswoman for ExcelAire Service, a Ronkonkoma, New York-based charter aircraft operator that owned the Legacy 600. She said the next hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday, Tulsa World reported Thursday.

The union wants Brazilian authorities to conduct the investigation under International Civil Aviation Organization guidelines, because "it has long been understood that criminalizing the accident investigation process has a serious chilling effect on its effectiveness since parties to the accident are likely to be less forthcoming with potentially vital information," the statement said.

The Brazilian Air Force is in charge of that nation's air control system. Its preliminary report on the accident noted that the Legacy 600 aircraft reached its assigned altitude of 37,000 feet and stayed there, and that the plane's pilots remained in communication with air traffic controllers.

The report did not provide details about the communications between the Boeing 737 and air traffic controllers or disclose contents of that plane's written flight plan.

On Wednesday, Brazilian air force commander Brig. Gen. Luiz Carlos da Silva Bueno acknowledged for the first time that tower error may have contributed to the crash.

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