It now appears that at least three Brazilian air traffic controllers could be charged with involuntary manslaughter for their role in the collision between an Embraer Legacy 600 bizjet and a Gol Airlines Boeing 737, which killed all 154 aboard the Boeing last Sept. 29. Earlier reports from Brazil said a federal police investigation ignored air traffic controls involvement because ATC is run by the military in Brazil and it would do its own investigation. But a fresh report from the Sao Paulo newspaper O Estado, quoted by Newsday, says the police probe has implicated three of the 10 controllers who were on duty at the time of the collision. The report has not been officially released yet, but O Estado says the police allege that the controllers gave incomplete instructions to the Embraer crew, leading them to believe that they were cleared to fly their whole intended route at 37,000 feet. O Estado says the controllers actually expected the bizjet to change altitudes twice but either didnt notice or didnt do anything about it if they did notice.
