The Transponder was Disconnected

Family members of GOL Flight 1907 victims believe that the transponder of the Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet was voluntarily disconnected by the pilots, Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino, causing the mid-air collision with a GOL Boeing 737-800 on September 29, 2006 above the Amazon with a death toll of 155 people. The Legacy was damaged but landed safely at an air force base. “We already knew that they could not have disconnected the transponder inadvertently with their feet, their laptop or any other way; however, the civil aviation authority’s statement, that there is no indication of intentional disconnection, is unacceptable,” says Angelita De Marchi, president of the Association of Relatives and Friends of GOL’s Flight 1907 Victims. De Marchi says a transcript of GOL’s flight 1907 black box conversations support the families’ beliefs. The group said the civil aviation authority cannot exclude the possibility of intentional disconnection of the transponder.  “We want to know which other devices from the Legacy were turned off, besides the transponder and the TCAS, which we know of from the investigations.  “The most ironic thing is that minutes after the collision, the Legacy’s transponder reappeared in the secondary radar of the Amazon ACC, fully identified, with speed, altitude and aircraft information,” the group said. The Pilots and Airplane Owners Association (APPA) said “it would be practically impossible” to have an involuntary disconnection of the transponder/TCAS system. “It is impossible to disconnect a transponder without the pilot’s intervention. “ The victims’ families are awaiting the official report from the civil aviation authority, as well as the decision on the Positive Conflict Competence, which is under revision by Justice Paulo Gallotti of the Supreme Court.