WASHINGTON – Authorities investigating the TAM airlines crash that killed 199 people in Sao Paulo last month believe pilot error caused the tragedy, according to sources familiar with the probe. The finding, if confirmed, would cast doubt on speculation that poor runway conditions were to blame and could lessen pressure on a government that many Brazilians still fault for the country’s worst air disaster.
The sources said investigators believe the pilots incorrectly adjusted the plane’s engine settings upon landing. A failure to correctly set thrust levels for one of the two engines would explain why the plane veered off the wet runway before crashing into a fuel depot and catching fire.
As they approached Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport to land, the pilots had programmed the computerized engine controls – similar to a car’s cruise-control system – to maintain a speed of about 150 mph, according to the sources. When the plane was about 30 feet off the ground, the pilots correctly switched one of the engines to idle, but did not do so with the other engine. When the pilots applied the brakes, the second engine automatically attempted to accelerate to maintain the preset 150-mph speed. That caused the plane to veer left and made it impossible to stop, the sources said.
Additionally, one of the airplane’s thrust reversers – a device used to slow the aircraft – was broken. Officials from TAM and Airbus, the manufacturer of the A320 aircraft, have emphasized that the plane is safe to fly with a disabled reverser.
In the weeks since the July 17 crash, the government has weathered severe criticism for what many labeled an accident waiting to happen. Some officials had long contended that the short runway at Congonhas was unsafe in rainy conditions, and authorities had even tried to close the runway earlier this year.
The possibility of pilot error would shift some of the direct blame away from the government, which has faced increasing scrutiny since a Gol airlines jet collided with a private plane over the Amazon rain forest in September, killing 154 people.
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