CAL EWR

Sorry for the late post. I have been away from a computer for some time.

Someone please find the link to the video news coverage of yesterdays historic event and post it as there was quite a bit of news media present.

On Saturday, December 9, 2006 I was honored to be invited by ExcelAire President Bob Sherry to join 200 family, friends and colleagues of Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino to meet Joe and Jan's aircraft upon arrival from Brazil in Islip New York.

It was a very emotional time and great celebration seeing these two heroes come back home! I was very honored to meet both Joe and Jan for the first time and was able to talk with them for quite a few minutes. I did my best to relay to the both of them the huge outpouring of support and assistance from their peers on this and other aviation forums. I told them we were all so proud of them and extremely happy for their safe return.

I have so much more to say on yesterdays event but unfortunately it will have to wait a day or so until I have time to gather my thoughts. Yesterday was a very emotional day and being away from home on a computer from kinko's I can't do this justice with only a few paragraphs.

To everyone on this forum who took the time to write your elected leaders and who kept Joe and Jan in you prayers and thoughts THANK YOU!

Fraternally,

Jayson Baron

Skygirl

Thanks to your efforts Jayson! That's awesome news. I bet they had a good sleep last night in their own beds. Good work!

AVIVIII

Just scanning through some news articles and found this. I can't say that I am surprised....

http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles.../10087617.html

B757200ER

Should give investigators more info to focus on.

But, then again, it is Brazil. They'll probably just overlook their own citizens and their own faults. limitations and mistakes, and just find some convenient scapegoats to blame their ATC problems on----like 2 Legacy pilots who were caught up in this stinking mess.

FlyerJosh

When a flight crew is charged with "involuntarily exposing a ship or airship to danger" (or as police stated "lack of caution") for following a legal ATC clearance, do you fully expect anything rational from the Brazilian authorities?

AVIVIII

How do you say, "What is the ICAO?" in Portuguese?

CAL EWR

The following letter was sent to the CAL CEO and the ALPA National Officers.

Gentlemen,

On Saturday December 9th First Officer Doug Marotta and I were honored to represent Continental Airlines and the Airline Pilots Association in welcoming back fellow pilots Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino.

Doug and I were graciously invited by ExcelAire Service CEO and President Bob Sherry to join more than two hundred family members, friends and colleagues to welcome back Joe and Jan. We all waited for the Embraer Legacy, the same type of aircraft involved in the mid-air collision, which carried Joe and Jan from Brazil at ExcelAire’s hanger at Long Island MacArthur in Ronkonkoma, N.Y.

This was truly an experience both Doug and I will remember for the rest of our lives. We participated and witnessed a very emotional homecoming, one that left very few with dry eyes. After Joe and Jan were so emotionally greeted, a press conference began. Afterwards we all enjoyed a catered lunch in the ExcelAire hanger.

Doug and I had the opportunity to talk at length with both Joe and Jan. We told both of them how very proud we all were, not only of their heroic landing of a severely damaged aircraft in the middle of the Amazon jungle, but also of how they handled themselves for the next seventy days of virtual incarceration in an extremely hostile environment. We expressed that they both represented the very best of professional aviation. Joe and Jan expressed sincere gratitude for all of the assistance provided by ALPA and their fellow peer pilots. I told them ALPA isn't just about negotiating and enforcing contracts, a big part of ALPA is pilots helping pilots.

We were also able to talk extensively with three individuals who were primarily responsible for Joe and Jan’s safe return. Mr. Robert Torricella , Joe and Jan’s Miami attorney, who was nothing short of amazing. He more closely resembled a friend of Joe and Jan’s with a life long bond than anything like the normal attorney-client type of relationship.

Robert, incredibly, spent seven of the ten weeks Joe and Jan were held captive in Brazil in the same hotel suite at the JW Marriott in Cabana Beach in Rio. The only reason he left their side was when it was absolutely necessary to return to the United States to attend to their defense. Robert told us he ate the same food, slept at the same time and constricted himself to the same physical and mental limitations as Joe and Jan. Sometimes that meant eating dinner at two in the afternoon or two in the morning as Joe and Jan’s body clock changed. He recalled one two-week period in which the three of them remained in one suite with the curtains closed never opening the door.

Robert stated that there would be no way he could ever express his gratitude to the staff at the JW Marriott Cabana Beach. He said that whatever Joe and Jan needed the staff bent over backwards to accommodate. This included clearing out the entire 17th floor by moving guests immediately out and providing security upon Robert’s request because the hotel was being infiltrated by the Brazilian paparazzi. When Joe and Jan needed to go outside, the staff secured the roof and provided security to allow Joe and Jan to get much needed fresh air. They also provided decoy cars out of the hotel to the Federal Court house for the media to follow when it was needed to safely and securely move Joe and Jan to other locations.

Robert asked me to forward to all of you that if there is any way in the future it would be possible you for you to provide business to the JW Marriott Cabana Beach, including booking airline crews for layovers, he would sincerely appreciate it.

Mr. Robert Sharkey, a reporter for the New York Times and fellow mid-air survivor on the Legacy, accurately documented the entire seventy-day ordeal. During this time period, there wasn't a day that he didn't update his blog at www.joesharkey.com or write an article in order to continue to keep media attention on this terrible injustice and help provide a medium for the huge support for so many, not only New York residents, but for people from all over the world.

Mr. Bob Sherry made sure every base was covered to bring home his two employees. His company paid $75,000 for the Legacy charter because he was very concerned about Joe’s and Jan’s safety and didn't want the two of them to spend a minute longer in Brazil than they had to. Even though this was Jan’s first trip with his company he was treated like he had been an employee with many years of longevity.

Bob wanted to make sure everyone understands that even though Joe and Jan are home the battle is far from over. Joe and Jan are still criminally charged and face extradition back to Brazil. The precedent of criminalization of US pilots flying abroad is significant and he asks that ALPA and Continental continue to use their political muscle to make sure this terrible injustice never happens again to anyone else. Bob also wanted everyone to know that U.S. Representative Peter King (NY) was the only politician to get involved and play a significant role in Joe’s and Jan’s return. Despite the many requests for assistance and many personal calls Bob had placed to New York Senators Clinton and Schumer pleading for help, never once did either of them take a moment to respond.

Thank you, everyone, for your significant assistance helping bring my new friends Joe and Jan safely back home. As stated in a sign a little girl was holding at the welcome home celebration, “you are the best holiday gift ever”.

I wish you and your families a safe and happy Holiday season.


Sincerely,


Captain Jayson Baron


Click here: New York Daily News - Home - Happy landing for two Yanks

CAL EWR

Joe and Jan were on Friday's Today Show. I can't find the link for the video segment on the website. If someone could find it please post it here.

Thanks

CAL EWR

Click on the link below and after a short commercial the five minute interview of Joe and Jan with Matt Lauer is available to view.

Click here: MSNBC Video

jetblaster

This was posted on an American Airlines chat room website; Jan Paladino is a furloughed AA pilot and was an active member in the NY domicile.
------------------------------------------------------------

These guys were held 70 days for no fault of their own and in direct violation of ICAO Annex 13.

Thank goodness they can now defend themselves..and, unlike AA 587's Sten Molin and Ed States...can strike out at their false accusers.

The only difference in the actions of the Brazilian spokesman who accused the pilots of doing "air tricks" and Marion Blakey and Bob Benzon of the NTSB, who accused AA 587 FO Sten Molin of repeated rudder reversals that "caused the tail of the plane to break off"...is that Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino are alive to defend themselves and refute the lies.

If the union or their company is left to the task, politics and corruption, as seen by the latest actions of APA in the AA 587 case, will take hold.

This could happen to any of us--to be criminally charged--at any time in Brazil.

So...why does APA President Ralph Hunter still advocate we fly there?

Why does MIA APA Chairman Mike Lackovic or LGA APA Chairman Sam Mayer or DFW APA Chairman Mickey Mellerski... still advocate pilots from their bases continue to fly there?

Why do Captains and First Officers from ANY airline--who can be incarcerated at the whim of Brazilian authorities for anything (or nothing but a false claim) indefinitely, without being formally charged, like some third-world, Banana Republic or Soviet Dictatorship...or, worse, be criminally charged for an aviation incident...

...still fly to Brazil?

Last question: if Jan and Joe won't fly to Brazil...why will you?

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Pilots in Brazil crash defend actions

By JENNIFER PELTZ, Associated Press WriterFri Dec 15, 10:40 AM ET

Two pilots whose executive jet collided with a larger jet over the Brazilian jungle, killing 154 people, said Friday they were flying at the altitude assigned by air traffic controllers.

Speaking publicly for the first time about the Sept. 29 crash, Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino said on NBC's "Today" show that they never saw the larger plane and could not avoid the collision.

Paladino said they were flying at 37,000 feet, as directed, and could not have left that altitude without their permission.

"Air traffic controllers have responsibility to manage that traffic," he said.

Flight controllers have been under investigation in the crash, and federal police superintendent Daniel Lorenz Azevedo said Wednesday that other people may be charged.

The collision over the Amazon jungle killed everyone on board the Gol Airlines Boeing 737-800 in Brazil's worst air disaster. The smaller jet, owned by ExcelAire of Ronkonkoma, N.Y., landed safely with all seven people aboard unharmed.

"We were compliant with all regulations," Paladino said. "We were doing exactly what we were supposed to be doing, and we just experienced, automatically, just a jolt out of nowhere."

Brazilian authorities have formally accused Lepore, 42, and Paladino, 34, saying their "lack of caution" played a role in the crash. In a preliminary report, Brazilian police said the pilots could have prevented the disaster if they had noticed their plane's transponder was turned off.

The report said it wasn't clear whether the transponder malfunctioned or was turned off by the pilots. The device transmits the plane's altitude and operates the automatic collision warning system.

Paladino and Lepore said they never learned about the accident until a couple of hours later, though they said they asked immediately after landing whether another airplane had issued a distress call. The impact tore a wing tip and part of the tail off their plane, Lepore said.

A Brazilian judge will decide whether to indict the pilots and send them to trial. If convicted, each could face up to 12 years in prison.