São Paulo, Brazil – Brazil’s president fired his defense minister Wednesday in response to a fatal jetliner crash that turned months of anger over breakdowns in the military-run national air system into a full-blown political crisis.
Defense Minister Waldir Pires was under withering criticism for not fixing the system even before the TAM Linhas Aereas SA jet crashed last week at São Paulo’s main Congonhas airport, killing 199 people.
His replacement, former Supreme Court President Nelson Jobim, now must make good on President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s promise of a thorough investigation, new safety measures and a third airport to serve São Paulo, a booming city of 18 million people.
“It’s no secret to any Brazilian that we have an aviation crisis,” da Silva said at Jobim’s swearing-in, vowing to do whatever it took to resolve the situation.
He acknowledged feeling the same anxiety about flying that many other Brazilians do.
“Every time the airplane door closes, I deliver myself to God,” the president said.
Pires is a veteran leftist politician and longtime friend of da Silva’s widely seen as a political appointee who brought little competence to the defense job. Jobim has no prior experience in aviation but is generally seen as a tough-minded problem solver.
The root of the aviation problem remains chronic underinvestment in radar, runways and other aspects of Brazil’s infrastructure.
Safety upgrades, backup systems and even training for air-traffic controllers were delayed for years despite exponential growth in flights serving South America’s robust economies.
Then, a September plane crash in the Amazon prompted a series of work stoppages and slowdowns by air-traffic controllers protesting precarious working conditions and lack of air safety.
The problems escalated after the São Paulo crash investigation forced the closure of the main runway at Congonhasand an electrical failure forced radar coverage to suddenly go dark in the Amazon.
TAM, Brazil’s No. 1 airline, canceled dozens of flights in and out of Congonhas Wednesday, all but closing the main domestic travel hub because of concerns about landing in heavy rain on a shorter backup runway.
There were at least 492 flight delays of more than one hour and 253 cancellations nationwide.
