Trial of Brazil defendants in plane crash begins: Airbus A320-233, PTMBK, TAM Linhas Aéreas, Accident occurred July 17, 2007 in Sao Paulo

SAO PAULO (AP) Three people charged with responsibility for the 2007 crash of a jetliner that killed 199 people went on trial Wednesday in Brazil's biggest city.

The Federal Judiciary System said in a statement that the first two days of the trial will focus on testimony given by prosecution witnesses. Defense witnesses will testify in November and December.

A TAM Airbus A320 landed in driving rain at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport on July 17, 2007, sped down the runway and crashed into a gas station and air cargo building at 110 mph (175 kph).

All 187 people aboard and 12 people on the ground died.

In 2011, prosecutors charged Denise Abreu, former director of Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency, Alberto Fajerman, TAM Airlines former vice president of operations, and Marco Aurelio dos Santos de Miranda e Castro, the airline's former safety director, with endangering air transportation safety.

The prosecutor's office said the three were to blame for allowing use of a runway that was unsafe due to a faulty drainage system.

Twenty days before the accident, the recently repaved runway was authorized for use despite lacking the grooves that allow water to drain off the runway and provide increased grip.

Prosecutors allege Abreu acted imprudently by authorizing the use of the grooveless runway. The two TAM directors were blamed for allowing the company's aircraft to land in Congonhas despite knowing of the runway's lack of grooves.

The statement also said that one of the plane's thrust reversers, which help to slow aircraft upon landing, was not functional.

Source:   http://www.nzherald.co.nz

NTSB Identification: DCA07RA059
Accident occurred Tuesday, July 17, 2007 in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Aircraft: Airbus Industrie A320-233, registration:
Injuries: 199 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. The foreign authority was the source of this information.

On July 17, 2007, at 21:54 UTC, an Airbus A320-233, Brazilian registration PTMBK, serial number 789, operated by TAM Linhas Aéreas overran the end of runway 35 at the Sao Paulo Congonhas airport upon landing. The airplane was on a scheduled domestic flight from Porto Alegre, Brazil. The airplane departed the runway to the left side near the departure end and crossed over a road prior to impacting a cargo depot and gas station. The end of the runway is on elevated terrain approximately 80 meters above the surface of the road. The 6 crew members, 162 passengers, and 18 persons on the ground suffered fatal injuries. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and fire.

This accident is being investigated by the Brazilian Aeronautical Accident Prevention and Investigation Center (CENIPA). The NTSB is assisting as state of manufacture of the IAE V2527 engines, and is providing flight data and cockpit voice recorder readouts at the request of the CENIPA Investigator in Charge.