Pols push for pilots
Three congressmen seek diplomats' help in release of LI men whose passports were seized by Brazilians
BY BILL BLEYER AND ZACHARY R. DOWDY
STAFF WRITERS; Sylvia Adcock contributed to this story, which was supplemented with a report from The Associated Press.
October 6, 2006
Three area congressmen reached out to diplomats yesterday seeking the release of two Long Island pilots whose passports were confiscated by Brazilian officials after their jet was involved in a midair collision over the Amazon jungle.
And the Ronkonkoma firm that employs the pilots urged against a rush to judgment by officials in Brazil, where emotions are running high over the crash that killed 155.
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"I urge you to do all that you can to see that these Americans are allowed to return home immediately," Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) wrote Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after being contacted by ExcelAire of Long Island MacArthur Airport. King said he was concerned for the safety of Joseph Lepore, 42, of Bay Shore and Jan Paladino, 34, of Westhampton Beach.
Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) contacted the U.S. consul general in Brazil about the matter, too. "We just wanted to make sure they were paying attention to it and that things were being handled appropriately," said Jack Pratt, Israel's chief of staff.
A spokesman said Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Jamaica Estates) contacted the Brazilian ambassador to the United States to push for the pilots' release.
"The investigation is in its earliest stages," ExcelAire said in a statement. The firm said it was looking forward to establishing the falsity "of the rumors and speculation asserted against its pilots."
ExcelAire has retained Burson-Marsteller, an international public relations firm that specializes in crisis management, to make its case in Brazil.
"I'm sure it's a very feverish climate in Brazil, but I am trying to make sure these two men are treated properly," King said in an interview.
Rice is in the Middle East and there was no immediate response to the letter. The State Department said if the pilots were allowed to leave and were later charged, there is an extradition treaty between the two countries. Spokesman Tom Casey said confiscating passports is standard procedure in Brazil.
Following the crash last Friday, a judge ordered that the ExcelAire pilots turn over their passports while authorities investigate whether they flew at the wrong altitude, causing the collision with Gol Airlines Flight 1907.
Authorities are investigating why the Embraer Legacy executive jet was flying at 37,000 feet instead of its authorized altitude of 36,000 feet.
On Wednesday, some Brazilian authorities suggested the pilots may have turned off their anti-collision system, possibly so they could do maneuvers on the jet's maiden flight that they did not want air traffic controllers to know about.
Prosecutors said they could charge the pilots with involuntary manslaughter if they turned off the system. Lepore and Paladino told investigators they never turned off the device - which not only transmits a plane's location but also alerts the pilots if another plane is approaching - and believed it was working, according to the Mato Grosso do Sul Public Safety Department.
Paladino was an American Airlines pilot furloughed after Sept. 11, but remains on the active pilots list and could be recalled.
Capt. Sam Mayer, chairman of The Allied Pilots Association, which represents American's pilots, said some members are refusing flights to Brazil because of the statements made by officials there.
The union dispatched pilots to help Paladino's wife and put her in touch with its attorney.
Sylvia Adcock contributed to this story, which was supplemented with a report from The Associated Press.
Three congressmen seek diplomats' help in release of LI men whose passports were seized by Brazilians
BY BILL BLEYER AND ZACHARY R. DOWDY
STAFF WRITERS; Sylvia Adcock contributed to this story, which was supplemented with a report from The Associated Press.
October 6, 2006
Three area congressmen reached out to diplomats yesterday seeking the release of two Long Island pilots whose passports were confiscated by Brazilian officials after their jet was involved in a midair collision over the Amazon jungle.
And the Ronkonkoma firm that employs the pilots urged against a rush to judgment by officials in Brazil, where emotions are running high over the crash that killed 155.
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"I urge you to do all that you can to see that these Americans are allowed to return home immediately," Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) wrote Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after being contacted by ExcelAire of Long Island MacArthur Airport. King said he was concerned for the safety of Joseph Lepore, 42, of Bay Shore and Jan Paladino, 34, of Westhampton Beach.
Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) contacted the U.S. consul general in Brazil about the matter, too. "We just wanted to make sure they were paying attention to it and that things were being handled appropriately," said Jack Pratt, Israel's chief of staff.
A spokesman said Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Jamaica Estates) contacted the Brazilian ambassador to the United States to push for the pilots' release.
"The investigation is in its earliest stages," ExcelAire said in a statement. The firm said it was looking forward to establishing the falsity "of the rumors and speculation asserted against its pilots."
ExcelAire has retained Burson-Marsteller, an international public relations firm that specializes in crisis management, to make its case in Brazil.
"I'm sure it's a very feverish climate in Brazil, but I am trying to make sure these two men are treated properly," King said in an interview.
Rice is in the Middle East and there was no immediate response to the letter. The State Department said if the pilots were allowed to leave and were later charged, there is an extradition treaty between the two countries. Spokesman Tom Casey said confiscating passports is standard procedure in Brazil.
Following the crash last Friday, a judge ordered that the ExcelAire pilots turn over their passports while authorities investigate whether they flew at the wrong altitude, causing the collision with Gol Airlines Flight 1907.
Authorities are investigating why the Embraer Legacy executive jet was flying at 37,000 feet instead of its authorized altitude of 36,000 feet.
On Wednesday, some Brazilian authorities suggested the pilots may have turned off their anti-collision system, possibly so they could do maneuvers on the jet's maiden flight that they did not want air traffic controllers to know about.
Prosecutors said they could charge the pilots with involuntary manslaughter if they turned off the system. Lepore and Paladino told investigators they never turned off the device - which not only transmits a plane's location but also alerts the pilots if another plane is approaching - and believed it was working, according to the Mato Grosso do Sul Public Safety Department.
Paladino was an American Airlines pilot furloughed after Sept. 11, but remains on the active pilots list and could be recalled.
Capt. Sam Mayer, chairman of The Allied Pilots Association, which represents American's pilots, said some members are refusing flights to Brazil because of the statements made by officials there.
The union dispatched pilots to help Paladino's wife and put her in touch with its attorney.
Sylvia Adcock contributed to this story, which was supplemented with a report from The Associated Press.
