Please Help Pilots Stuck In Brazil

[CAL EWR B737]

Please help Pilots Stuck In Brazil


The following forwarded e-mail is from my good friend and fellow Continental pilot. His friend Joe Lepore was the captain of the executive jet that had a mid-air collision with a Brazilian 737-800 airliner over Brazil in September. Joe is a former Trans States (ALPA) and Jan is former Eagle and furloughed American (ALPA and APA).

Joe and his copilot Jan have been held in Brazil with their passports confiscated by the local authorities for almost two months.

Please review the forwarded e-mails and the attached sample letter I am sending to you. Please forward this email, along with the sample letter, to others (especially to those that live in New York state.)

Ask all who are forwarded these emails to send the sample letter to the listed US officials to create the political pressure needed so Joe and his copilot can return home to their families.

Thank You,






I got the following email from Ellen Lepore, Joe Lepore's wife. All along we've been asked if there's anything that we could do to help Joe and Jan, his co-pilot. Well, now there is. Please send letters to the politicians in the accompanying email as soon as possible. Make sure your spouses, family, friends, EVERYONE YOU KNOW sends one. It's important that these guys finally get home to their families. Please send this email to everyone that you know. Now's the time to step up and do whatever we can to help. Remember, not only is Joe a great guy who doesn't deserve the treatment he's getting, but it could also be you down there needing help, wishing someone would write a letter. Please help and write the letters as soon as possible. It'll only take a moment, and you can reunite two families for the holidays. Thanks so much for your help. I know Joe for many years, and I know he and his family would be very appreciative and thank you all as well. Thanks!



I just wanted to let you know that we got the OK to put the pressure on the US Gov't to try and get Joe and Jan home. I've attached a document that includes the names of a few politicians along with a sample letter. Please pass this along to anyone you think might help.

Thank you!!

Ellen

 

[CAL EWR B737]

CONTACT INFORMATION

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Fax: 202-228-0282
Phone: 202-224-4451
476 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC20514

Congressman Pete King
[email protected]
436 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC20515
202-225-7896

Senator Charles Schumer
757 Third Ave.
Suite 17-02
New York, NY10017
Fax:202-228-3027

Gary Ackerman
202-225-1589 (fax)
2243 Rayburn Office Building
House of Representatives
Washington, DC20515
202-225-2601
202-225-1580 (fax)

One additional contact and addition:


Congressman Peter King's fax number is 202-226-2279

Joe's local Congressman is:

Congressman Steve Israel
432 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone - 202-225-3335
Fax - 202-225-4669


Thanks again to all of you for your help in this urgent matter!


SAMPLE LETTER
Nov. xx, 2006

Dear xx (senator or congressman)

We are writing to engage your assistance in the return of Jan Paladino and Joe Lepore, two professional pilots from New York, who have been unlawfully detained in Brazil for more than six weeks.


Brazilian authorities continue to hold their passports since their involvement in a mid-air collision on September 29th, despite the fact that there has been no evidence to suggest that these pilots caused this tragic accident. They have been prevented from returning home to their families, without any charges, in violation of Brazilian law, and international aviation treaties.


Sadly, Brazilian government officials have tried to scapegoat these pilots to conceal the shortcomings in their own aviation system. Air safety depends on the integrity of accident investigations. Without free and open discourse championed by ICAO and such internationally respected organizations as the Flight Safety Foundation, the cause of air safety is impaired.

This heavy-handed treatment of these New York pilots, while they are fully cooperating with authorities, is unfair and impedes the aviation investigation and threatens the safety of air travelers throughout Brazil.


We ask for your prompt assistance in helping to bring these honorable pilots home.

Regards,

Xxx

 

[CAL EWR B737]

The guys are locked up in a hotel in Rio. Unfortunately, their whereabouts can't be disclosed out of fear for their safety. The Brazilian press has whipped up a fervor against these guys, and they have not set foot outside their hotel in almost 6 weeks. They've been widely portrayed in the Brazilian press as two millionaire playboys playing around in Daddy's jet, doing loops and rolls at FL370. Seriously, that's what's been said. In actuality, Joe is just a charter pilot trying to eke out a living trying to feed his family, and Jan is a AA guy on furlough. Millionaires, indeed. The public is in such a frenzy about this that they've been locked away in the hotel for their own good.

They got to actually go outside for some sun and air twice in 6 weeks - both times for about 10 minutes at a time on the rooftop of the hotel. At this point, they just want to come home to their families. The evidence in their favor is overwhelming. ATC personnel and the CVR tapes clearly show that they were told to maintain the altitude that they were at. No one yet knows why the transponder didn't work. There was no reason whatsoever for them to turn it off, and Joe swears he didn't touch it. This was the aircraft's maiden voyage, and I personally suspect it just plain failed, which would normally just be a plain old squawk on a new plane under different circumstances. ATC has testified that they tracked the plane for over an hour with no mode C, and yet they never notified the crew. The politics down there is such that the Brazilian govenment is left with egg on their face, and they're trying to extridite themselves from this without looking like fools. I believe the Chinese call it saving face. Meanwhile these guys rot in Brazil. It's really a shame, but as I said earlier, it could easily be any of us. Scary, isn't it?
__________________

 

[southernpilot]

Good Evening All,
I did my part and mailed my letters today. I also e-mailed everyone in my aviation list (that never works though). Has anyone else here done anything besides complain?

 

[Corona]

Has anyone else here done anything besides complain?

No, but I understand the hotel is on the beach. Sounds like a good job for the Marines, if you ask me. :angryfire

C

 

[LJ45]

I told the Chief Pilot of a Fortune 100 Company, who just got back from Brazil and are looking at buying several airplanes, to tell those Bastards to let those pilots go and don't even think about buying those Jungle Jets until they do!

 

[CAL EWR B737]

Reposted from another forum with the authors permission.

>>This is certainly no vacation for either of these pilots. I used to work with Jan, and he has corresponded with me about his situation. Make no mistake. This crew is under house arrest and are fearful of their own safety.

They are professionals that were involved in a terrible accident. Following the accident they willfully submitted to the requests of the Brazilian government by being debriefed and interviewed multiple times.

Three days after the accident, things went south. The Defense Minister publicly accused the pilots of intentionally turning off their transponder and performing aerobatic maneuvers to "test the limits of their new aircraft." He also accused them of deviating from a filed flight plan, and not complying with ATC instructions. Keep in mind that this is the same person that is charged with ensuring that the investigation is unbiased and fair. Also keep in mind that on this delivery flight there was a reporter, and several executives from both Embraer and the company that employed the pilots, ExcelAire. Not exactly the situation where I would be going out and doing steep turns and stalls (let alone aerobatic flight).

Shortly after, the ministry of justice announced that they were planning to seek charges (including possible murder charges) against any responsible parties. The Brazilian public was out for blood.

As a result, these pilots have spent no more than a handful of hours under the sunlight. Those hours that they have been out of their rooms, I've been told that it was on the roof of the hotel, also under close guard for their own protection. They are locked in their hotel rooms. Their families are not available any longer, as life must continue back in the states.

In the past weeks, it has become more apparent that ATC has played a significant role in this accident. If you've ever been to Brazil and flown through the area where the accident occurred, you would know that both radar coverage and particularly radio coverage can be sporadic. CVR recordings have apparently revealed that ATC did in fact assign the Legacy the altitude at which they were flying, and the FDR shows that the Legacy was in straight and level flight at the time of impact.

In addition, the government has yet to interview the controllers that were working on the day of the collision. These controllers have been placed on ADMINISTRATIVE MEDICAL LEAVE, and have refused to cooperate with the investigators or give any type of statements.

Today marks 50 days since the accident. These pilots have fully cooperated with the Brazilian authorities. If (and this is a big if, IMHO), it is found through a thorough investigation, that there was extreme negligence on the part of the pilots that warrants criminal charges, then there are established extradition treaties for their return to Brazil.

However, I think that it sets a very dangerous precedence when governments (of any country) start any aviation disaster investigation with finger pointing and threats of criminal prosecution, instead of investigating to find the cause and prevent it from happening again, especially if the investigators want full cooperation from all parties... The fact that the controllers have clammed up shows exactly why it's imperative not to point fingers and toss claims of "murder charges" around during an active investigation.

Finally, if you know anything about this business, accident investigations take months, if not years to come to a final determination. Do you expect these pilots to be confined until then?<<

>>Again, guys - not to beat a dead horse here, but this could have EASILY been any one of us. Neither these guys nor the Gol crew had responsibility for this tragedy. They were both flying the course and altitude that the incompetent Brazilian air traffic controllers assigned them. If you have time, PLEASE speak to your local Federal representatives and tell them to get the State Department engaged to get these guys home NOW. I spoke with Joe Lepore last night - the guys have been moved to another hotel in another city to ensure their safety. Other than that, they're in good shape, and as you can imagine, eager to get home. Their wives are being allowed to visit them for the holidays. The wives will head down there under tight security, and spend a few days with their husbands before having to leave and head home again for continued seperation. It will be the first time these guys have seen their wives since just days after this tragedy occurred. Any noise you can make for these guys, and anyone in the future who may find themselves in a similar situation, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.<<

 

[CAL EWR B737]

Please read - New York Times reporter Joe Sharkey who was a passenger on the Legacy.

JOESHARKEY.COM

Court Won't Return U.S. Pilots' Passports - washingtonpost.com



Click here: Brazilian flight controllers decline to be questioned by police about crash - iht,america,Brazil Plane Crash - Ame

 

[CAL EWR B737]

I am asking for everyone on this forum, posters and lurkers to take a few minutes and help out some fellow aviators, union brothers and fellow Americans who need your help.

If you could please do two things you will be helping these men get home to their families:

1: Write to your Senator and Congressperson via the links below.

2: Call the New York Senators and Congressperson offices listed at the beginning of this thread. You will speak to staffers and it will take you all of five minutes. If these NY Politicians here from hundreds or thousands of concerned citizens maybe just maybe something will get done. It will take only a few moments of your time but in unison it will send a strong message. It doesn't matter if you're not a New York State resident.

Thank you in advance. Many of us fly internationally this could happen to anyone of us and if it did wouldn't you want your fellow aviators to help get you home?

Also I have been in contact with ALPA and they are going to meet with the State Department shortly and also will be calling Joe and Jan and their families shortly.




Click here: Write Your Representative - Contact your Congressperson in the U.S. House of Representatives.



Click here: U.S. Senate: Senators Home

 

[CAL EWR B737]

Stuck in a Bureaucratic Jungle after Landing a Crippled Jet
By JOE SHARKEY
Published: November 21, 2006
FIFTY-THREE days.

That’s how long two American pilots, Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino, have been detained in Brazil after a horrendous midair collision 37,000 feet over the Amazon on Sept. 29 that sent 154 people on a civilian airliner to their deaths. The two American pilots and five passengers, including me, were on a Legacy 600 private jet that collided with the bigger Gol Airlines 737. Inexplicably, we walked away unhurt after an emergency landing at a jungle air base.


Mr. Lepore, 42, and Mr. Paladino, 34, are holed up in a hotel in Rio de Janeiro, where they are essentially confined to their rooms to avoid the public because the reaction to the accident has had a strong element of anti-Americanism. They work for ExcelAire Service, a Ronkonkoma, N.Y., air charter company that had just taken delivery of the $25 million jet from the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. It was being flown home to New York when the collision occurred. No charges have been filed against the pilots, nor has any evidence of culpability been produced. Yet on Friday, a Brazilian judge denied the pilots’ latest request to have their passports returned and said they must remain in Brazil till the government’s secret investigation concludes, which Brazilian authorities say could take at least 10 more months. Last Thursday, the Brazilian Air Force, responsible for both operating the country’s air traffic control system and investigating aviation accidents, released a preliminary report saying it was “premature” to assign blame. The report confirmed that the Legacy was cleared by air traffic control to fly at 37,000 feet, despite a written flight plan that assigned it to a different altitude near the impact point. Air traffic control instructions always take precedence over a written flight plan. After the crash, Brazilian Air Force officials and other authorities made assertions that the American pilots were doing illegal aerial stunt maneuvers to show off the new plane when the collision occurred. I have no idea where they got that idea, but the charges got an awful lot of mileage in the Brazilian and world news media. I have consistently testified and otherwise stated and written that the Legacy was flying steadily, in an entirely normal manner, when the impact occurred. There is no mention of the aerial stunt maneuvers in the preliminary report. Officials from the International Civil Aviation Organization, based in Canada, and the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States conducted independent investigations. Their focus has been on whether the crash was mainly caused by a series of human and technological failures in Brazil’s air traffic control system. The Legacy, cockpit tapes show, made 19 unsuccessful attempts to reach air traffic control before the collision. And as numerous international pilots have told me, there are radio and radar gaps and dead zones, especially over the Amazon. Furthermore (and this is a fact that was omitted from the Air Force’s preliminary report), the Gol 737’s flight plan called for it to be at 41,000 feet at the point where the two planes collided. But air traffic control instructed the 737 to fly at 37,000 feet. After the crash, there was turmoil in Brazilian air traffic control. Controllers, protesting what they called unsafe working conditions, staged a work slowdown that caused major delays. Ten controllers at centers in Brasília and Manaus at the time of impact initially refused to testify before the Air Force, citing psychological trauma. They began testifying yesterday. The full truth will eventually come out, but outside investigators are questioning whether the Brazilians are dragging their feet to avoid assigning blame to their air traffic control system. Investigators from the United States and Canada are not allowed to publish findings before the Brazilian investigation concludes. But the aviation industry has begun to speak out. The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations issued a statement last week saying, “Only contradictory facts, rumor and unsupported allegations have been forthcoming from Brazilian government officials.” There is “no valid reason for the continued detention” of the pilots, it said. Robert Torricella, a lawyer for ExcelAire, agreed. “Enough is enough,” he said. Robert Mark, a former airline and corporate pilot and air traffic controller who heads an aviation consulting company called CommAvia, said he was worried about the precedent being set in world aviation. “The Brazilians just grabbed these guys from another country and are keeping them in detention without probable cause,” Mr. Mark said. “Why aren’t more people expressing concern about the effects this could have, in that some other countries start grabbing people for whatever real or imagined reason?”
E-mail: [email protected]

 

[CAL EWR B737]

Click here: The wreck and the reckoning - Sunday Times - Times Online

MUST READ!!

 

[SpiderMan]

They are right. That guy is a $hit of a journalist.

 

[Propnose]

Sent my letters! Let's hope this helps to get them home!

 

[GPilot]

Sent mine...time for them to come home.

 

[Publishers]

They are getting their passports back in 72 hours

 

[CAL EWR B737]

Click here: Pelican's Perch #81: It's a Jungle Down There

Good article