Brazil Demands Solution to Aviation Crisis

Article title: Brazil Demands Solution to Aviation Crisis
Source: The New York Times
Published: Thursday, July 19, 2007
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In Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 18th, the plane skidded off the runway and then became the fiery crash. More than 176 people are confirmed dead in the accident, the worst in Brazil’s history and the second in less than 10 months. Brazilian news organizations were speculating that the pilot of the plane that crashed may have touched down beyond the limit of the zone designated for landings. The Congonhas Airport where the accident occurred is Brazil’s busiest, handling more than 600 landings and takeoffs on an average day. The weather has been quite rainy, and the Congonhas’ runway is known to be chronically slippery when wet and have led to several incidents of skidding and shutdowns that have caused nationwide air traffic snarls. Repairs were ordered, but the runway was put back in use last month before the crucial last stage, known as “roving”, aviation officials acknowledged Wednesday. “Grooving” provides drainage and lets tires get a better grip when a plane lands. Brazilians responded Wednesday with anger and renewed calls for the government to act immediately to end the deepening aviation crisis. But even as Brazilians mourned, the focus of their discussion was shifting to how to prevent yet another disaster. Though President created an emergency cabinet group to deal with Tuesday night’s disaster, it is not clear who is dealing with the larger array of problems.