Story ID: 
NTSB To Assist in Brazilian Midair Investigation
By: Gordon Gilbert
Caption: The NTSB is sending investigators to Brazil to assist in the investigation of the September 29 midair between a Boeing 737 and an Embraer Legacy 600.
Word Count: 203
The NTSB is sending investigators to Brazil to assist in the investigation of the September 29 midair between a Boeing 737 and an Embraer Legacy 600. NTSB senior investigator William English will serve as the U.S. accredited representative, accompanied by two Safety Board investigators and representatives from the FAA and Boeing. Brazil’s Aeronautical Accident Prevention and Investigation Center will release all official information on the progress of the investigation. The midair occurred at about 5 p.m. local time at 37,000 feet and resulted in the Gol Linhas Aereas 737 crashing into remote jungle terrain. All 155 people aboard were killed. The Embraer Legacy 600, with seven people aboard and parts of its stabilizers and most of the left winglet torn away, landed safely at a Brazilian Air Force Base in Cachimbo. The Legacy had been registered on the same day as the accident as N600XL to ExcelAire of Ronkonkoma, N.Y. Officials from ExcelAire were picking up the new airplane to fly it to the U.S. Among the passengers was New York Times writer Joe Sharkey on assignment for AIN’s sister publication, Business Jet Traveler. It is too soon in the investigation to determine what part TCAS or RVSM might have played in the accident.