Seven months after the largest aviation accident in Brazilian territory, when 154 people died aboard a Boeing 737 flying over the Amazon jungle after colliding with a Legacy jet, the Association of Friends and Relatives of the Gol 1907 Flight Victims continues their campaign to have the American pilots of the Legacy punished.
In a press release distributed yesterday, April 26, the association says that they are seeking signatures asking for support from the people so that Brazilian authorities will conclude, "quickly but justly," the investigations and then inform the community and the relatives about the results that have yet to be published.
The signatures will be delivered to the Minister of the Justice of Brazil, Tarso Genro, in the first week of May, with the "intention of preserving the constitutional rights of the victims of the tragedy that occurred on September 29, 2006" says the document.
This petition is being put together by Rosane Gutjhar, in partnership with the Association Vice-President, Angelita de Marchi. Their primary focus will be the assignment of responsibility.
Seven months after the accident allegedly provoked by the Legacy Jet, part of the American company ExcelAire, nothing has been explained, comments Rosane Gutjhar. "We have mounds of paper, but no conclusion. We want to see the guilty parties punished for they have taken innocent lives and no money in the world will restore that," she points out.
This week, there will also be a trial in Brazil's Superior Tribunal de Justiça (STJ) seeking to release the information contained in the investigation done by the Brazilian Air Force to the families of the accident victims.
"The information therein contained is crucial for the families’ interests," explains lawyer Leonardo Amarante. The families do not have the details of the investigation, including the contents of the aircraft black box, or the results of the tests performed on the pilots or the Legacy Jet inspection.
Leonardo Amarante is the lawyer of the office that represents the 50 Brazilian victims families of Gol 1907 Flight in Brazil and in the U.S. He is also the lawyer of the vice-president of the Association of Friends and Relatives of the GOL 1907 Flight Victims, Angelita Rosicler de Marchi.
The Brazilian Federal Police requested an additional 60 days to present the police investigation results. It will not be until after the close of the investigation process that the suit against those involved will be filed with the Public Ministry of Brazil.
The manifesto written (in Portuguese)Â by the Association can be found at www.petitiononline.com/voog1907/petition.html.