Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim on Saturday announced that the head of Brazil’s airport authority would be replaced this week in a move that marks the second major personnel shift since the July crash on landing of a TAM Airbus A320 killed 199 people in the nation’s worst ever aviation disaster. Jobim himself was appointed just eight days after the jetliner slid off the runway at Sao Paulo Congonhas Airports recently resurfaced runway. The runway had not yet been grooved and reports indicate it was wet at the time of the accident. Brazilian newspapers have quoted internal Airbus statements indicating that data recorders recovered from the crash did not indicate any functional flaws with the aircraft, and early reports suggest that the throttle of the aircraft’s right engine was set to accelerate the aircraft rather than reverse thrust. Officials close to the investigation say that data contained in the aircraft’s recorders is currently being analyzed, is not conclusive and that it is too early to say if the throttle position was a human or computer-aided error.
