Since I am the one who started this thread, I believe the following post is justified. I really don't know why this old thread has been brought back to life?
Below is what my good friend Doug Marotta wrote about Joe and Jan. I was fortunate enough to meet both Joe and Jan when they walked off the plane to a huge celebration in Long Island Mac Arthur Airport (ISP) when they came home from this ordeal.
It's not in the thread below and I can't find where Doug wrote about the this, but I do remember him telling me the following. The transponder put in the new EMB-135 was not new in fact it was an used previously and removed for several write ups for either part or all of the transponder being inop.
Below is Doug Marotta's post from February 2008.
"Jan is in fact back at AA. Joe is still flying for ExelAire, in the Embraer. His career is damaged severely, probably beyond repair. The Brazilians have demanded that they both be returned to Brazil for a "fair trial" - and yes, the Brazilians do manage to say that with a straight face somehow. Due to this demand and their fully understandable refusal to return to Brazil, Joe and Jan can't leave the U.S. for fear that another foreign government may have no choice but to extradite them back to Brazil. Joe is now a charter pilot flying an aircraft that does mostly international trips, and he can't go international. I don't know Jan very well, and I don't know how he's handling that situation back at AA. I would imagine he has some arrangement with the company to keep him domestic, but I really don't know for certain. What a mess.
Joe and Jan spoke at great length with the Brazilian equivalent of the NTSB in Washington a while back. The Brazilians continue to try to place blame on them for allegedly turning off their transponder. Both Jan and Joe are adamant that they did no such thing. All audio tapes of the incident are very clear that both aircraft, the 737 that was so tragically lost, and the Embraer that Joe and Jan so skillfully piloted to a safe landing despite severe damage, were EXACTLY where they were so clearly told to be by the Brazilian Air Force controllers. They were following directives from ATC perfectly, and had no reason whatsoever to turn off the transponder. Why in the world would they do such a thing?
Unfortunately, both aircraft were told to be in the same point in the sky at the same time. Clearly there was a failure in the transponder in the Embraer, because for over an hour prior to the accident controllers (ATC in Brazil is staffed by the Brazilian Air Force) on the tapes are heard on numerous occasions discussing the fact the the Embraer had no transponder signal. Unfortunately, for over an hour they were aware of this and never once saw fit to tell the pilots of the Embraer that they had no signal. Averting this tragedy could easily have been a simple as telling Joe and Jan that they had no Mode S and to switch to Transponder #2. Keep in mind that this was a brand new aircraft, straight from the Embraer factory, heading home on it's maiden flight. Can you imagine the lawsuits in Brazil if the brand new transponder was proven to be faulty? Can you imagine the motivation by the Brazilian government to protect it's main manufacturing giant, and it's own Air Force?
Due to the politics and economics of the controllers being Brazilian Air Force and the brand new aircraft with a faulty transponder being built by one of the largest and most vital companies in Brazil, clearly the decision has been made by the Brazilian government to hang the pilots as the scapegoats. It's easier, cheaper and less embarrassing than going after the ineptness of their own Air Force, or the company that is one of the largest contributors to the GNP of their nation.
Joe and Jan's insurance coverage for their legal defense is about to hit the max limit, and they'll be on their own financially to finance their own legal defense. To make matters worse, they are each being sued personally by the families of virtually everyone on board the 737. Our government has allowed the Brazilian citizens to sue them in the American as well as the Brazilian civil court system. The Brazilian and American attorneys representing the family members have colluded to make the case as difficult and expensive as possible by filing individual suits in over 20 different states, trying to force the insurance companies into a settlement by driving up the costs of an effective defense. You and I as American taxpayers are footing the court costs for all this.
There is every chance, and even an expectation that this case could bankrupt these two fine pilots, leaving them and their families with out a career and a home. It could have easily have been one of us down there.
Again, neither they nor the crew of the 737 did anything wrong. They were both exactly where they were told to be, exactly when they were told to be there, just as you or I piloting a CAL, DAL, NWA, AA, UAL aircraft, or any other plane would have been. There but for the grace of God go I (or we)..........
Please keep these two fine gentlemen in your thoughts and prayers."
|
Similar Threads
Linear Mode
