Brazilian TAM to pay
$1.5 billion in plane
crash compensation
Brazilian TAM Airlines
said Thursday that it
will pay us$1.5 billion
dollars in compensation
to people and businesses
affected by the July 17
air crash, which killed
nearly 200 people.
The compensation will be
"sufficient" to cover
all the damages and
losses caused to people
and properties by the
accident, said TAM's
President Marco Antonio
Bologna, adding that his
company will ensure that
the compensation is paid
in full.
"We cannot have our
beloved ones back, but
we can provide the
necessary conditions of
support," said Bologna
at a hearing of the
congressional committee
investigating the air
disaster.
In response to a
question about whether
his company had used
low-quality equipment,
Bologna said the
aircraft met safety
requirements and was in
good condition before it
crashed.
He stressed that he
would not guess at any
possible causes before
the committee makes a
final decision.
The committee on
Wednesday released a
transcript of the
cockpit conversation
recorded by the black
box flight recorder,
suggesting that a
mechanism failure or
pilot error had
contributed to the
accident.
The July 17 crash was
the deadliest in
Brazil's aviation
history, when a TAM
airlines Airbus A320
crashed into a fuel
station and exploded
shortly after landing at
Sao Paulo's Congonhas
airport, killing nearly
200 people, 187 of whom
were onboard the plane.
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