Criminal Culpability for Role in Gol 737 Disaster

That's the most ridiculous judgement I've ever heard in an aviation case. Does anyone know if other similar rulings have been made in Brazil? I get a strong sense here of governmental pressure being applied to the judiciary to avoid embarrassment to Brazilian aviation governance...

That judge probably knows as much about aviation as a Hollywood moviemaker...next to nothing. The crew deserves a distinguished flying cross for their heroic efforts in saving the 7 aboard the bizjet.

Let's talk about being a hero! Do you think that two professional pilots, that fly to another coutry to pick an airplane (a state-of-the-art airplane, btw), and don´t follow a BASIC flight rule causing the death of 154 people are heroes? Really? What does hero mean in the USA?
Let's imagine a different situation: let's suppose that 2 brazilian pilots have gone to USA to pick a jet at Cessna. Suddenly, with no clearence from the controllers and with the transponder OFF, they decide to climb to the FP level. What if this airplane hit a United commercial jet and kill 154 north-american citizens? What would you think? Would you say that these pilots were heroes because of the 5 lives they've saved or would you sentence them to life in prision for the deaths they've caused?
Let's talk about facts: these 2 men, among other people, were responsible for the deaths of a lot of people and for the misery of a lot of families. These penalty they've got is RIDICULOUS! They should have never left Brazil and they should pay for their crime here! Lucky them, our justice system is not as good as our airplanes!

No MadDog! Just recommend all pilots NOT to turn the transponder off while talking to a Brazilian ATC, specially if they are planning to climb to their FL......I think it's enough! Don't you?
Ok.....you're gonna say it was not the north-american pilots who turned the Legacy trasponder OFF, it was a monkey.....that's it.......there was a monkey on the cabin! ....beacause hat's all we've got here: jungles, samba, soccer....!!!!! Gee....maybe Pele did it!!!

There were enough mistakes in this accident to go around, but clearly the biggest mistake was caused by the military-operated ATC system in Brazil that put both aircraft on a collison course at the same altitude.

The Legacy pilots were detained after the crash and faced a long drawn out period before their trial began, which is bad but not near as bad as what happened to all those unfortunate people in the 737 . The pilots of the bizjet had communication issues for a period of time prior to the collision, which may have drawn their atttention away from scanning for aircraft. If I remember correctly, the left seat pilot of the Legacy liked to put his feet up for more comfort during long trips. It is possible that, due to an unusual location of the transponder in the bottom right part of thecaptain's side of the instrument panel, his right foot may have move the transponder mode switch from active to standby.

Sentencing these two pilots to four years and then commuting their sentence to timed served seems odd to me, because wheat did they actually do except get caught up in a colossal error by the brazilian air traffic controller.

What are the takeaways from this unfortunate accident? Be ever vigilant. Listen for mistakes by ATC, especially when flying in a foreign country. A scan of the radio stack now and then will help spot tuning errors or other misplaced switches. Be careful where you put your feet. Don't assume you will enjoy the same rights and freedom when you're abroad.

And if you're a professional pilot flying around Brazil who is involved in an accident, better hope you, or your company, has a strong team of junkyard defense lawyers.

Douglas M
Surrey, BC

You have absolutely NO IDEA on what you're talking about! Check the NTSB reports before saying these things.
The pilots were confused and didn't know how to use a lot of devices on the airplane. Shortly after the impact the radar contact was restablished, showing that the pilots were aware that both the transponder and the TCAS were OFF. They talked about it!
The pilots didn't know their position and didn't follow the flight plan......they were not supposed to be in that flight level!!!
They should be forbidden to fly!!! They should be in JAIL!!!!
I'd like to tell you that all brazilian citizens are very disappointed with the punishment given to your "heroes".
The families of the victims will never forget what happened.......the 52seconds of despair, the screams recorded on the CVR. I think you haven't heard that.....but you've probably heard the "heroes" celebrating the fact that they'd saved their as....
Just FYI, the brazilian pilots tried for 52 seconds to land the airplane, even when it was coming apart (and they knew it) they tried to calm each other down and do their job!
They died as heroes.
Instead of looking up for these guys, you should demand punishment too, for they may kill another hundred of productive, brilliant, young and innocent people in your country too.