Pilots, Controllers Likely to be Held Liable in Gol Accident

A spokesperson for the chief investigator into the ExcelAire/Gol accident last year, said controllers share the blame along with the pilots of the Embraer Legacy 600 which collided with the 737, killing all 154 aboard the Gol jet  The official conclusions are expected in about a month. It is the first time official blame was cast beyond the two American pilots that were in custody for several weeks in Brazil. Controllers face up to 12 years in prison on homicide charges because they failed to divert the 737 once the Legacy disappeared from radar. It is unclear whether criminal charges will be lodged against the Legacy pilots, although they have been formally accused by police for on similar charges as the controllers – exposing an aircraft to danger. Investigators are focusing on whether they turned off the transponder or whether it malfunctioned. ExcelAire denied any deliberate act on the part of the pilots in disengaging either the transponder or its threat collision avoidance system. While controllers said they thought the Legacy was operating at 36,000 feet, transcripts show it had been authorized to 37,000, a contradiction to the plane’s original flight plan.