Joe Sharkey, the journalist that was aboard the Embraer Legacy 600 involved in the Brazilian air tragedy wrote a paragraph in his personal blog on monday, followed by a full article on Tuesday.

I'm putting both here for reference....but the issue I'd like comments on is the tone and content of the responses posted in Mr. Sharkey's blog.
_______________________________

posted by Joe Sharkey | 1:42 AM | 34 comments

Monday, October 02, 2006
Astonished to Be Alive...

As many of you know, I was a passenger on the corporate jet that was involved with the terrible Gol Boeing 737 crash in Brazil. I am safe, astonished to be alive, but extremely worried about the fate of the two pilots and the Exelaire executive still being detained. We all had been detained and questioned at the air base and then at a police headquaters for 36 hours. Also, all of us are deeply shaken by the loss of all those people in the 737. We simply did not know what had hit us until three hours after we made our emergency landing at some formerly top-secret air base deep in the Amazon jungle. We now know are all living on borrowed time. I will try to post again tomorrow evening.
_______________________________________________

SÃO JOSE DOS CAMPOS, Brazil, Oct. 1 — It had been an uneventful, comfortable flight.

With the window shade drawn, I was relaxing in my leather seat aboard a $25 million corporate jet that was flying 37,000 feet above the vast Amazon rainforest. The 7 of us on board the 13-passenger jet were keeping to ourselves.

Without warning, I felt a terrific jolt and heard a loud bang, followed by an eerie silence, save for the hum of the engines.

And then the three words I will never forget. “We’ve been hit,” said Henry Yandle, a fellow passenger standing in the aisle near the cockpit of the Embraer Legacy 600 jet.

“Hit? By what?” I wondered. I lifted the shade. The sky was clear; the sun low in the sky. The rainforest went on forever. But there, at the end of the wing, was a jagged ridge, perhaps a foot high, where the five-foot-tall winglet was supposed to be.

And so began the most harrowing 30 minutes of my life. I would be told time and again in the next few days that nobody ever survives a midair collision. I was lucky to be alive — and only later would I learn that the 155 people aboard the Boeing 737 on a domestic flight that seems to have clipped us were not.

Investigators are still trying to sort out what happened, and how — our smaller jet managed to stay aloft while a 737 that is longer, wider and more than three times as heavy, fell from the sky nose first.

But at 3:59 last Friday afternoon, all I could see, all I knew, was that part of the wing was gone. And it was clear that the situation was worsening in a hurry. The leading edge of the wing was losing rivets, and starting to peel back.

Amazingly, no one panicked. The pilots calmly starting scanning their controls and maps for signs of a nearby airport, or, out their window, a place to come down.

But as the minutes passed, the plane kept losing speed. By now we all knew how bad this was. I wondered how badly ditching — an optimistic term for crashing — was going to hurt.

I thought of my family. There was no point reaching for my cellphone to try a call — there was no signal. And as our hopes sank with the sun, some of us jotted notes to spouses and loved ones and placed them in our wallets, hoping the notes would later be found.

I was focused on a different set of notes when the flight began. I’ve contributed the “On the Road”column for The New York Times business-travel section every week for the last seven years. But I was on the Embraer 600 for a freelance assignment for Business Jet Traveler magazine.

My fellow passengers included executives from Embraer and a charter company called ExcelAire, the new owner of the jet. David Rimmer, the senior vice president of Excel Aire, had invited me to ride home on the jet his company had just taken possession of at Embraer’s headquarters here.

And it had been a nice ride. Minutes before we were hit, I had wandered up to the cockpit to chat with the pilots, who said the plane was flying beautifully. I saw the readout that showed our altitude: 37,000 feet.

I returned to my seat. Minutes later came the strike (it sheared off part of the plane’s tail, too, we later learned).

Immediately afterward, there wasn’t much conversation.

Mr. Rimmer, a large man, was hunched in the aisle in front of me staring out the window at the newly damaged wing.

“How bad is it?” I asked.

He fixed me with a steady look and said, "I don’t know."

I saw the body language of the two pilots. They were like infantrymen working together in a jam, just as they had been trained to do.

For the next 25 minutes, the pilots, Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino, were scanning their instruments, looking for an airport. Nothing turned up.

They sent out a Mayday signal, which was acknowledged by a cargo plane somewhere in the region. There had been no contact with any other plane, and certainly not with a 737 in the same airspace.

Mr. Lepore then spotted a runway through the darkening canopy of trees.

“I can see an airport,” he said.

They tried to contact the control tower at what turned out to be a military base hidden deep in the Amazon. They steered the plane through a big wide sweep to avoid putting too much stress on the wing.

As they approached the runway, they had the first contact with air traffic control.

“We didn’t know how much runway we had or what was on it,” Mr. Paladino would say later that night at the base in the jungle at Cachimbo.

We came down hard and fast. I watched the pilots wrestle the aircraft because so many of their automatic controls were blown. They brought us to a halt with plenty of runway left. We staggered to the exit.

“Nice flying,” I told the pilots as I passed them. Actually, I inserted an unprintable word between “nice” and “flying.”

“Any time,” Mr. Paladino, said with an anxious smile.

Later that night they gave us cold beer and food at the military base. We speculated endlessly about what had caused the impact. A wayward weather balloon? A hot-dogging military fighter jet whose pilot had bailed? An airliner somewhere nearby that had blown up, and rained debris on us?

Whatever the cause, it had become clear that we had been involved in an actual midair crash that none of us should have survived.

In a moment of gallows humor at the dormlike barracks where we were to sleep, I said, “Maybe we are all actually dead, and this is hell — reliving college bull sessions with a can of beer for eternity.”

About 7.30 p.m. Dan Bachmann, an Embraer executive and the only one among us who spoke Portuguese, came to the table in the mess hall with news from the commander’s office. A Boeing 737 with 155 people on board was reported missing right where we had been hit.

Before that moment, we had all been bonding, joking about our close call. We were the Amazon Seven, living now on precious time that no longer belonged to us but somehow we had acquired. We would have a reunion each year and report on how we used our time.

Instead we now bowed our heads in a long moment of silence, with the sound of muffled tears.

Both pilots, experienced corporate jet pilots, were shaken by the ordeal. “If anybody should have gone down it should have been us,” Mr. Lepore, 42, of Bay Shore, N.Y., kept saying.

Mr. Paladino, 34, of Westhampton, N.Y., was barely able to speak. “I’m just trying to settle in with the loss of all those people. It is really starting to hurt,” he said.

Mr. Yandle told them: “You guys are heroes. You saved our lives.” They smiled wanly. It was clear the weight of all this would remain with them forever.

The next day, the base was swarming with Brazilian authorities investigating the accident and directing search operations for the downed 737, which an officer told me lay in an area less than 100 miles south of us that could be reached only by whacking away by hand at dense jungle.

We also got access to our plane, which was being pored over by inspectors. Ralph Michielli, vice president for maintenance at ExcelAire and a fellow passenger on the flight, took me up on a lift to see the damage to the wing near the sheared-off winglet.

A panel near the leading edge of the wing had separated by a foot or more. Dark stains closer to the fuselage showed that fuel had leaked out. Parts of the horizontal stabilizer on the tail had been smashed, and a small chunk was missing off the left elevator.

A Brazilian military inspector standing by surprised me by his willingness to talk, although the conversation was limited by his weak English and my nonexistent Portuguese.

He was speculating on what happened, but this is what he said: Both planes were, inexplicably, at the same altitude in the same space in the sky. The southeast-bound 737 pilots spotted our Legacy 600, which was flying northwest to Manaus, and made a frantic evasive bank. The 737 wing, swooping into the space between our wing and the high tail, clipped us twice, and the bigger plane then went into its death spiral.

It sounded like an impossible situation, the inspector acknowledged. “But I think this happened,” he said. Though no one can say for certain yet how the accident occurred, three other Brazilian officers told me they had been informed that both planes were at the same altitude.

Why did I — the closest passenger to the impact — hear no sound, no roar of a big 737?

I asked Jeirgem Prust, a test pilot for Embraer. This was the following day, when we had been transferred from the base by military aircraft to a police headquarters in Cuiaba. That’s where authorities had laid claim to jurisdiction and where the pilots and passengers of the Legacy 600, including me, would be questioned until dawn by an intense police commander and his translators.

Mr. Prust took out a calculator and tapped away, figuring the time that would be available to hear the roar of a jet coming at another jet, each flying at over 500 miles an hour in opposite directions. He showed me the numbers. “It’s far less than a split second,” he said. We both looked at the pilots slouched on couches across the room.

“These guys and that plane saved our lives,” I said.

“By my calculations,” he agreed.

I later thought that perhaps the pilot of the Brazilian airliner had also saved our lives because of his quick reactions. If only his own passengers could say the same.

At the police headquarters, we were required to write on a sheet of paper our names, addresses, birthdates, occupations and levels of education, plus the names of our parents. We were all also required to submit to an examination by a physician with long hair who wore a white gown that draped almost to his shins. We were required to strip to the waists for photographs front and back.

This, explained the physician, whose name I did not get but who described himself to me as a “forensic doctor,” was to prove that we had not been tortured “in any way.”

Again gallows humor rose despite our attempts to discourage it.

“This guy’s the coroner,” Mr. Yandle explained later, and then added, “I think that means we are actually dead.”

But laughs, such as they were, died out by now as we thought again and again of the bodies still unclaimed in the jungle, and how their lives and ours had intersected, literally and metaphorically, for one horrible split second.
______________________________________________

Responses, from the first of two response areas:


Rodrigo Craveiro said...
Please, Mr. Sharkey. I am a journalist from the largest daily newspaper at Brazil´s capital -- where most of victims lived -- and I would like to have a quick interview with you by telephone. How can I reach you, please? There are many doubts between families here. Please, help us. My e-mail is rodrigo.craveiro@gmail.com
Thanks!

2:54 PM


Rodrigo Craveiro said...
I am so sorry for insisting in this interview. I called you but your wife told me you would not give interviews. Please, there is much sorrow here in my city, where most of people who died in the disaster lived. I would like to hear you... People want to search for answers. Could you help me with this interview for Correio Braziliense? please. My phone is 005561 3214-1175

4:02 PM


CarloAmorusso said...
I'm glad to hear that you and the other people in your plane were able to survive this terrible accident. I just hope authorities can determine the causes for this unfortunate event, so that something like this doesn't happen again. I wish you and your family all the best,

Carlos

4:22 PM


Juliano Machado said...
Mr Sharkey,
I´m journalist from "O Estado de S. Paulo", one of the biggest newspapers in Brazil. I'm very interested in interviewing you about the Gol Boeing 737 crash. As you know, it was the worst airplane crash in Brazilian history and our public seeks much more information on how it happenned. Could you help me in this case? My e-mail is juliano.machado@grupoestado.com.br and my phones are 55 11 3856-2923 or 3856-2646.

Many thanks.

4:38 PM


Russel Biffs said...
I'm glad to hear you are sound and safe.

Unfortunately, I am disappointed with your comment: "...but extremely worried about the fate of the two pilots and the Exelaire executive still being detained..."

What is the cause of your worries ?

By saying that, you give the impression that could sound like this:

"..some military people from a third world country are keeping some american people arrested under harsh conditions without them being guilty for that..."

I call that sensationalism or yellow journalism.

I believe that the accident must be investigated and that US would do the same if some foreign pilot (not matter where he came from) was involved in an accident of this magnitude.

We don't know if the pilot turned off the transponder and other equipment just to fly higher and faster to test his brand new plane. We also don't know if the executives wanted to play with their new toy and asked the pilot to do it...

We don't know... And any serious country must investigate that.

Maybe you don't consider Brazil a serious country (of course you may have several reasons to do that), but, by the other hand, any serious journalist would not practice yellow journalism ? or would he ?

Russel Biffs

4:56 PM


Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the author.

5:00 PM


Carlos Ribeiro said...
First of all... I'm not a journalist or a activist, just a brazilian blogger. My sympathy goes for you and your family, specially your wife, who must be standing a lot of pressure. For someone who have must lived a unique life such as yours... that's something awesome, to survive such a crash. I can only barely imagine what have you been into over the past couple days. Of course, I hope you and all the other passengers & crew were well treated. I also hope that you will be able to make a clear and sincere statement upon you view of the incident handling by Brazilian authorities. It's quite easy to miss the point right now, in the heat of the moment, specially for something so unusual and unexpected. As a brazilian, I sincerely hope that the authorities act correctly, being clear-headed enough to do things as they have to be done, within the limits of their power, and respecting you & the crew as foreign citizens. As a frequent traveller (and sometimes Gol's customer) myself, I think we all deserve to know what happened.

5:10 PM


Felipe Bravo said...
I'm glad that you and the other occupants of the jet survived this awful event. As yourself, I would be worried about the pilots of the Exelaire jet, however, to say that you are worried about their "fate" seems a little insulting to say the least. They are not in a hostile environment, or in the hands of madmen.

5:12 PM


Rodrigo de Almeida said...
Mr Sharkey,
I am a journalist from "Jornal do Brasil", one of the biggest newspapers in Brazil. As my colleagues, I would like to have an interview with you about the Gol Boeing 737 crash. I live in New York. My phone number is 646 707 0281. My email is rodrigo-almeida@uol.com.br.
Best regards,
Rodrigo de Almeida

5:19 PM


giselevaz said...
Muito egoísta de sua parte de estar mais preocupado com seus amigos americanos que estão bem do que com os familiares das 155 vítimas do maior desastre aéreo da história do Brasil, que estão nesse momento chorando seus mortos, sem ao menos poderem enterrá-los.
Perdeu a chance de mostrar pelo menos pra 180 milhões de brasileiros que não é verdade, que o povo americano não é egoísta e sim, se preocupa realmente com o resto do mundo.
Lamentável.

5:20 PM


José Cucaracha said...
Dear Mr. Sharkey,

If the your pilots are not guilty, you have nothing to worry about. The black box will tell the truth.

So, the American pilots must be detained until all the black boxes get totally checked.

If the American pilot was responsible, I hope he will be in a scummy Brazilian jail, for the rest of his life. But, if he was not responsible, he will be released. Don't worry.

Unfortunately, we cannot blindly believe in your words. We know that some American jornalists use to spin lies. Even the US president, George Bush, is known all over the world as a liar.

So, imagine if a Brazilian pilot gets involved, inside the US air space, in a tragic accident resulting in the death of 155 American lives (oh, how precious and supreme American lives are! According to the American propaganda, Americans are superior beings).

A Brazilian pilot involved in such kind of crap, would be imediately detained and, in case of proving his responsability, would go to death row, to get a lethal injection. Am I wrong?

However, as you are making us to understand in this article, an American pilot cannot be detained in a banana republic, he must be treated as supreme being.

Therefore, why are you worried? Did your pilot do something bad?

5:22 PM


Neto said...
Dear Mr. Sharkey,

I am glad that you have survived. Your post explains a lot the way you feel now.

At this time, I think that your blog is having a huge number of expectators in Brazil, since it has been referenced in Folha de São Paulo. In Folha, there is a focus in what you said about detention and "top-secret air base in the jungle". It's said by authorities in Brazil that all americans are free do go, but just invited to stay. I'm not here to judge anything, but just to give you a hint: take care with things you write about the accident. Too many brazilians will now read this blog and somethings like secret air base in the jungle does not sound well. Your post was great. Just be carefull.

5:25 PM


Neto said...
And by the way, don't worry about all agressive comments.

Best regards,

Neto

5:29 PM


Dario Dal Piaz said...
Dear Mr. Sharkey,

You should be that evasive in a situation like that. Please report what exacting is happening with you, the pilots and Excelaire executives. As far as the audience in Brazil knows you have not being detained, you are actually in a 5 stars hotel in São José dos Campos, state of São Paulo, and the US vice-consul is escorting the crew during all authorities hearing. Brazilian authorities mentioned that, according international aviation procedures, you are obliged to provide all information you have about the accident you and all 7 passengers of the Legacy took part of, please let the audience knows if these are accurate information.

I think you shouldn’t be worried; you were in a modern airplane and all flight data is loaded in the voice/data box, the Brazilian radar in that area is one of the most modern in world, the 737-800 is also a modern plane with all flight data loaded in voice/data box. Dear Mr. Shakey, don’t worry the exact facts will come up and you all be fine, or not…

5:33 PM


Rodrigo Strauss said...
Sorry, but someone must be a very stupid journalist to insist on a interview writing a blog comment, where anyone can read it.

"Please Mr Sharkey, I beg you for a interview, I really need to impress my boss, he think I'm dumb and this is the only chance I have to prove otherwise. I already called you wife, but I really think asking in your blog, in front of lots of people will make you change your mind".

5:34 PM


Marta said...
Dear Mr. Sharkey, I am deeply sorry for what happened to you. However, let me put this to you as nicely as I can: your worries about the "fate" of other passangers and crew members are just preposterously ridiculous! As a NYTimes journalist, you should at least have the decency not to insult Brazilians the way you did. Brazil is far from being a perfect country, but as far as I know, we don´t go around on shooting sprees looking for school kids to kill on a daily basis as your fellow countrymen regularly do. So, please, next time you decide to comment on something, choose a topic that you know about. Leave subjects that involve people´s feelings to someone else who might have a heart for a change. Have a nice life!

5:34 PM


José Cucaracha said...
Dear Mr. Sharkey,

If your pilot is not guilty, you have nothing to worry about. The black box will tell the truth.

So, the American pilots must be detained until all the black boxes get totally checked.

If the pilot was responsible, I hope he will stay in a dirty Brazilian jail for the rest of his life. But, if he was not responsible, he will be released. Don't worry.

Unfortunately, we cannot blindly believe in your words. We know that some American jornalists use to spin lies. Even the US president, George Bush, is known, all over the world, as a liar.

So, imagine if a Brazilian pilot gets involved, inside the US air space, in a tragic accident resulting in the death of 155 American lives (oh, how precious and supreme American lives are!).

A Brazilian pilot involved in such kind of crap, this one would be imediately detained and, in case of proving his responsability, he would go to death row, to get a lethal injection. Am I wrong?

However, your article gives me the impression that an American pilot (supreme being) cannot be detained in a inferior banana republic. Your American pilot must be treated as supreme beings, and released immediately. And, morever, just your American supreme jornalist word would be enough to prove anything.

But we Brazilians don't care. Your American pilot must have the same treatment a Brazilian pilot would get in USA. We don't care about your supreme nationality. Doesn't matter what nationality is, if your pilot is responsible, he must pay. If he is not responsible, he must be released.

Therefore, why are you worried? Did your pilot do something bad? Are you afraid that the Brazilian "savages" will eat your pilot alive in the Amazon?

5:42 PM


Lisa said...
Dad:
I am stunned, going to grandmom's tonight, will try to reach you?!
Lisa

5:49 PM


Ricardo said...
Cucaracha,
Your nickname really fits you well! You just posted the same crap again!!!
Marta, you too... come up with something a little more original. Shooting rampages are not an exclusive American trend. I think we have a few more troubling issues here in our country full of "hearted" people.

5:57 PM


Ricardo said...
Joe, I agree with some of the things people are saying but don't thing you deserve the bashing you are currently getting from some of the people here.

5:59 PM


GAC in NY, NY said...
Joe, as one of your loyal readers, I'm very glad you are safe and hope you get home soon. But as for the rightwing idiots and the Brazilians trashing this blog: get over yourselves! Tone down the hypernationalism -- this is not the place for it. Joe has just nearly been killed in a plane crash that unfortunately killed many people. He is good enough to post a brief note to his blog about the crash and now his brief comments are being analyzed and dissected and construed as "yellow journalism" or an insult to Brazilian pride?!? Come on!

5:59 PM


ValériaMS said...
É preciso mesmo preocupar-se com seus amigos, afinal eles podem ser devorados por índios da selva ou até serem sacrificados pelo povo pagão deste país de 3º mundo!!! Típico de vocês se acharem infalíveis, acima de qualquer suspeita! Apenas as próprias tragédias importam, são lamentadas, e vingadas a qualquer preço! O "resto"? ah...mero detalhe, acidente de percurso...Pobre pessoa pequena e mesquinha!

6:08 PM


Serjão said...
Mr. Sharkey, you are a lier! What you do is not yellow jornalism, it is brown!
When you say you´re worried with the two pilots detained at Brazil you´re lying. They are not detained and they can return home when they want. YOU RETURNED, Mr. Sharkey! You´re lying when you say "top-secret air base in the jungle". You are not well informed, Mr. Sharkey! You don´t read anything about outside USA!
Are you worried with the families of 161 dead people? Maybe caused, I say MAYBE, by your american pilot? This is sensationalism of a not well intentioned "journalist"! I agree with Mr. Russel Biffs totally! The black boxes will tell the truth, Mr. Sharkey! A journalist bad informed is a serious gun in wrong hamds! Where did you studied,Mr. Sharkey? What do you read? WAKE UP and see that the world is not ONLY the USA!

6:11 PM


Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the author.

6:22 PM


psael said...
Joe, is lamentable that you write in this blog that you are concerned with the Americans supposedly arrested for investigation of the accident. That information is not true. All brazilian authorities are determined in discovering the cause of the accident. It's very important hear the passengers and crew. We needed to discover where are the flaws. Boeing's crew? Legacy crew? Brazilian air space control? In all of them?
TCAS - anti-collision equipments?

Please, don't leave this emotion disturbs your reputation as a good journalist.

Please, listen Russel Biffs:

"" By saying that, you give the impression that could sound like this:

"..some military people from a third world country are keeping some american people arrested under harsh conditions without them being guilty for that..."

The accident must be investigated and that US would do the same if some foreign pilot (not matter where he came from) was involved in an accident of this magnitude.

We don't know if the pilot turned off the transponder and other equipment just to fly higher and faster to test his brand new plane.

We also don't know if the executives wanted to play with their new toy and asked the pilot to do it... ""

Thank you.

6:32 PM


psael said...
Joe, is lamentable that you write in this blog that you are concerned with the Americans supposedly arrested for investigation of the accident. That information is not true. All brazilian authorities are determined in discovering the cause of the accident. It's very important hear the passengers and crew. We needed to discover where are the flaws. Boeing's crew? Legacy crew? Brazilian air space control? In all of them?
TCAS - anti-collision equipments?

Please, don't leave this emotion disturbs your reputation as a good journalist.

Please, listen Russel Biffs:

"" By saying that, you give the impression that could sound like this:

"..some military people from a third world country are keeping some american people arrested under harsh conditions without them being guilty for that..."

The accident must be investigated and that US would do the same if some foreign pilot (not matter where he came from) was involved in an accident of this magnitude.

We don't know if the pilot turned off the transponder and other equipment just to fly higher and faster to test his brand new plane.

We also don't know if the executives wanted to play with their new toy and asked the pilot to do it... ""

Thank you.

6:33 PM


Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the author.

6:57 PM


lua said...
imagine se fosse um piloto brasileiro nos Estados Unidos.
Antes de averiguar, ele já estaria preso e torturado!!!!!!!!e, claro, acusado de ser terrorista!!!!

6:58 PM


Lobotomizado said...
This is ridiculous!! Being worried about the fate of the pilots does not have any correlation with Mr. Sharkey’s opinion about the culture of country and how investigation procedures are handled in Brazil.


You (Brazilians with Inferiority complex) embarrass me… you embarrass yourselves!!!

Sincerely,

Brasileiro Lobotomizado

7:03 PM


Mr. Luz said...
Dear Mr. Sharkey.
I'm a regular Brazilian airplane passenger also atonished with this terrible event that unfortunately you was involved as one simple witness thanking now for your life.
I can understanding the hard tone of my compatriots words at this dificult moment for all Brazilians that can't understand what happended until know. I can tell that is almost impossible to believe the Embraer Legacy didn't detected the Boeing 737 in it radar screen. The only unswer I could thought is that the GOL Boeing was flying in his normal altitude 35.000 foot and the Legacy in his also normal altitude of 37.000 foot and sudently the GOL Boeing up from 35.000 foot to 37.000 foot overruning the collision route so fast that was imposible to make any evasion proceeding or be detected by the Legacy in the Radar. Doing a simple calculate two aircrafts flying over than 800km p/h gets more than 1.600km p/h in the chash point. It is almost impossible to do something if you see one aircraft uping in front of you in this speed.
Don't be uncomfortable with the bad comments about you, in this moment we just need to add efforts to understand what happended with the GOL Boeing versus the Legacy to confort ourselves and mainly the family of the deads in the accident.
Mr. Luz

7:07 PM


Bob Peters said...
To any Brazilian pilots who may be reading this blog:
=
I'm having a lot of difficulty using Google to translate technical Brazilian aviation news related to this terrible accident.
=
As a pilot myself, I know the great problems with speculation about aircraft accidents....some of which we see posted here. Facts are essential; analysis takes time.
=
Please post the web addresses of any Brazilian newspapers, magazines or government agencies that cover aviation accidents and offer a version in English and other languages.
=
Four questions:
=
1. I've noticed that in one photo of the Boeing jet the landing gear seems to be extended. Does anyone know if the jet was attempting an emergency into the jungle?
=
2. Is the Boeing wreckage concentrated in a small area, along a possible emergency landing path, or is it widely scattered.
=
3. Is there any news regarding Air Traffic Control communications with the Gol airliner and the executive jet?
=
4. Is the airport where the executive jet landed a large airport that normally serves jet aircraft and is a Brazilian military base or a joint use civil/military airfield?
=
May the souls of those who perished rest in peace and may their loved ones rest assured that pilots everwhere grieve with them.
=
Sincere thanks for your help,
Bob Peters
=

7:58 PM


Flamenguista said...
Mr, Sharkey,

Your comment was not very constructive. It is surprising that a journalist of the NYTimes would write what you did. I imagine you must have felt worried about the fate of the other American citizens in the hands of the Brazilian military. It is understandable. If I were in a similar situation in the US I would also be very worried about the fate of Brazilian pilots with the American military, especially after the sad and shameful news on torture practiced around the world. But if I were a journalist, before writing I would first check a few things to base my comments on facts.

But you must have been emotionally unstable after participating in such a tragic event. I hope you and everyone else in your plane get back to your families soon. Maybe you could use some of your “borrowed time” to learn more about Brazil and, maybe, make constructive comments about it.

Regards,

Jose

8:06 PM


Cris Almeida said...
Brasileiro Lobotomizado, você envergonha por si só, não precisa de ninguém para isso. Você se bastou! Além de não entender nada do que foi aqui retalhado, vem com essa de complexo de inferioridade! É justamente esse o complexo que não temos, provado aqui com ótimas, sensatas e inteligentes argumentações!

8:20 PM


Fernando said...
It is interesting to notice your concern about secret military bases and people being detained without formal charges...

8:42 PM


Celinho said...
Mr Sharkey,
Happy to know that everything's ok with you and the airplane crew. Writing and reading this line means that the tragedy was not the worst possible.
Tell that you worried about the fate of your crew may sound a little bit cold with the rest of the 155 people killed in the accident. I know that you're not cold about that. But you, and I think everybody comes here in your blog, have to understand that all information is wellcome and the american pilot can be very usefull in this fase.

******************

Answering Bob Peters:

I'm not a pilot, but I can help you in some questions.

1)The landing gear was extended. Authorities think that may be a signal that the pilot was trying to land. We don't know yet.

2)the wreckage is concentraded in a small area.. but the bodies are everywhere..but there was no explosion..
=
3. Before the accident the boeing ask for going up from 35000 ft to 39000 ft. The executive was 37000 ft. And after that the 737 was off..Maybe a beggining..
=
4. It's a small civil/military airfield..

regards,

8:51 PM


Andreia said...
Mr Sharkey

Your words of been worried about the others two people! how about 155 people tha died? Its sounds like a American thinking..Just you is important..We are doing correctly in detain this american people here until the accident had been concluded..Who knows that the legacy airplane didn't have fault? Just the black box will tell us the truth..

8:56 PM


Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the author.

9:15 PM


Ary Jr said...
Dear journalist,

Once again a journalist from the Times is unfotunate in his comments. You should be ashamed of your talking, specially because you are resposible for influencing hundreds of inocent or not very well instructred readers.

We are facing a horrible tragedy with hundreds of family members sufering the lost of their loved ones. It's a very sad moment for all Brazilians, specially for those who knew somebody in that flight.

I am a pilot and want to send my protest and let you know that you should, before you accuse the Brazilian air force of holding the poor american pilots, understand what caused this tremendous accident. May easily be a human error, as the investigations are saying, showing that the pilots may have turned the transponder off.

I know that's very easy to you as an american to flee from the truth, kill many in wars and leave the place in peace. Smiling and ceelebrating victory after a unfair battle. All the world knows that!!!

I hope your unfortate comments will be well noticed by all brazilian journalists that are desperate trying to talk to you as we can see. And perhaps they will show how a person can be so mean with such a delicate moment.

9:58 PM


Russel Biffs said...
... secret military bases and
people being detained without formal charges...



HA HA HA, Sounds like USA to me !

10:10 PM


BLZ said...
ATT BOB PETERS !!!
look for news in english abut the crash at:
http://www.topix.net/world/brazil
that will do it,
see ya
Alberto

11:01 PM


Kwick said...
Guys, I might be mistaken but I believe that if we Brazilians start cursing Mr. Sharkey just as if he was guilty for the accident it won't be of any help.

He's giving HIS point of view in the accident and thanks God some people are still alive from this tragedy. Have you ever thought how is the feeling of flying for over 30 minutes in an aircraft that might just fall at any moment.

Think for yourselves guys! HE'S NOT THE ONE TO BLAME! He's just a normal person who might be passing through very difficult time overcoming such a trauma.

I believe that some of you might have been involved, at least, in a car crash. Isn't it horrible and hard to overcome?

Also it's very important to understand that you may, through all of those non-coherent-and-only-hateful comments make him silence himself. Please, ease guys!

11:24 PM


Kwick said...
Pessoal, eu posso estar engandado, mas creio que se nós,Brasileiros, começarmos a ofender o Sr. Sharkey como se ele fosse culpado não será de nenhuma ajuda.

Ele está dado o ponto de vista dele acerca do acidente e graças a Deus algumas pessoas ainda estão vivas após essa tragédia. Vocês já pensaram como é o sentimento de voar por mais de meia hora em uma aeronave que pode cair a qualquer momento!

Pensem por vocês mesmos pessoal! ELE NÃO É CULPADO DE NADA! É somente uma pessoa normal que pode estar passando por um momento muito delicado para superar tal trauma.

Creio que alguns de vocês já estiveram envolvidos, ao menos, em um acidente de carro. Isso não é difícil d superar?

Também é importante lembrar que a única coisa que vocês vão conseguir através de atitudes assim é o silêncio dele! Peguem leve! Por favor!

11:25 PM


Sad_Brazilian said...
Mr. Sharkey... I'm flabbergasted by the very unfortunate choice of words in your blog. As a journalist, you have a moral obligation to report facts without bias or prejudice and choose your words carefully.

It's a shame that you are so close-minded to think and write that you are afraid for the fate of the pilots... not to mention being inconsidered of the families of those killed in the accident.

Regarding your comment on "top-secret air base deep in the Amazon jungle", please keep in mind that Brazil has the RIGHT to build known or secret air bases anywhere in the country. That's Brazilian land and it belongs to Brazilians. There is nothing wrong with that and you, of all people, should know that the military in all countries have bases scattered in different areas. What puzzles me is the fact that your jet was able to land in a "top secret" air base... so much for "top secret"!

You survived the accident, yet you didn't learn anything about the opportunity that God has given you. I guess certain people will never learn! I hope you start thinking about the families involved in this tragedy instead of the supposed "fate" of the pilots. You may travel abroad, but you will always be an ignorant tourist full of prejudice who shouldn't be allowed to travel abroad. Shame on you!

11:39 PM


Peoples Hernandez said...
To 95% of the brazilians here: DOH.

It's all the same thing: Whenever a foreigner (specially american) says anything that can REMOTELY sound like arrogance or etnocentrism, you brazilians just pull all the usual s**t, somebody here even mentioned the school shootings for God's sake? (Like in Brazil there wasn't any 3-year-kids shot down by cops/gangsters in the favela, like happened right TODAY.)

The journalist has stated that the pilots were very courageous and competent by managing to land safely a plane with a shattered wing. And all of that while keeping the passengers calm. It's obvious that he's grown deep sympathy for the pilots and everybody else that was with him in that hard situation. And he felt sympathy for the people from the fallen airplane. Now what's the point for the bitching??

12:14 AM


Hardi said...
I totally agree with views of the majority expressed here.

I am also astonished that your first concern is about "the two pilots and the executive"
onboard the Legacy jet, while onboard the GOL aircraft we had the killing of 155
passengers. If anyone should be concerned about anything is about the killing of 155
Brazilians (one was Portuguese national) and their families.

The two American pilots and executive were interrogated by Brazilian authorities and
were "invited" to collaborate with the investigations towards shedding light on Brazil's
worst air accident ever. I believe this is normal procedure, especially because they are
have important information to contribute with the investigations.

Or perhaps the Americans also did not interrogate exhaustively those suspects of
terrorists acts?

Hardi Vieira
Amsterdam. The Netherlands

5:24 AM


THIAGO said...
Mr. Sharkey, what do you expected? Your plane hit in another plane. 155 people are dead, you and your friedns are alive (only God can say how) and you are upset with the fact that your friends are still in Brazil to cooperate with the investigations?
Don't you think in parents of the deads?
I am sure that if this accident happened in USA, the Legacy crew and passengers would be even be defendent as terrorists.
Please, take care with your words, they can hurt much more people

8:02 AM


Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the author.

8:03 AM


JoséAlvesCruz said...
Mr. Sharkey and all folks here... It´s not about guilt, not about 1st world neither 3rd world. It's about lives!!! Let´s take some time to have the truth of the facts revealed, and it´ll be the answer. It could be worst, if the two planes were down.

8:22 AM


Marcelo said...
Brazil is a serious country and the culprits will be punished, independent of who will be.

8:52 AM


Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the author.

8:56 AM


Roberta said...
I really don´t know why killers enter at schools in USA and kill inocent children almost every week... and then we brazilian people are strange... and you are worried??? Please, be worried with your own country, and what your country do with the rest of the world

8:56 AM


Luciana said...
It is amazing ( and good) that you´re all safe and sound.
Well well wel... who would say that a Brazilian airplane would survive and a Boeing... American...would not. Nedless to say that it is a good time to remind American people that it was SANTOUS DUMONT - a Brazilian - who invented the airplane, not the Wright Brothers...ok?
By the way - you could have been a little more sensitive to the vistims´ mourning.Pity.

10:13 AM


blarghysquared said...
Some of the comments here are unbelievable. Nothing that Mr. Sharkey wrote, so far as I can tell, was meant to insult the Brazilian authorities or suggest that the lives of the victims on the 737 weren't as valuable as those on the Embraer. In fact, in his NYTimes piece this morning, he mentions how the survivors cried when they learned that the 737 had gone down with so many people on board.

Expressing concern for the pilots who safely put Mr. Sharkley on the ground is not at all incompatible with feeling sorry for the victims on the 737. Jumping to conclusions about what Mr. Sharkley feels based on a one-paragraph blog post is absurd.

And the flippant anti-Americanism that characterizes many of these posts is every bit as disgusting as "America, right or wrong" flag-waving of some Americans. To suggest that Mr. Sharkley must bear the cross of the entire Bush Administration and every school shooter is as silly and offensive as suggesting all Brazilians are stained by the actions of every slum drug lord and murderous police officer. It isn't fair, it isn't productive, and it simply isn't necessary - blind nationalism like this speaks more to national insecurities than anything else.

All this blow-hard posturing about the "duties" and "obligations" of a journalist who just cheated death is appalling. The man is writing for himself, on a personal blog, and by most accounts he should be dead right now. If you can't find it in yourself to give him the benefit of the doubt, then I'm forced to assume you're coming here to post with an agenda - that agenda being the same short-sighted nationalism and ignorance that many of these posts so casually attribute to Mr. Sharkley.

So in short: Grow up. The memories of the victims on the 737 are not strengthened by your idiot-macho comments. If someone made a mistake that led to this tragedy, then they should be punished according to the rule of law. Until then, let's hold off on rounding up a lynch mob, okay?

10:56 AM


Marcelo said...
Sir is accurately this blarghysquared. As already said before, the culprits will be punished in accordance with the law, are North American or Brazilian they.

12:25 PM


Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the author.

12:57 PM


Rafael said...
I am brazilian and I think the brazilians here are exaggerating a little. I don't think Mr Sharkey wanted to offend brazilian people.

Mr Sharkey, I'm sorry for the comments that some compatriots posted here. And I hope you get over this tragic event and enjoy your life.

1:29 PM


Zanini H. said...
Mr. Sharkey. A nosotros cucarachas brasileños, nos gustaría saber adónde están "detenidos" los dos pilotos involucrados en el acidente como informa Ud. En qué comisaría o cárcel se encuentran los dos, Mr. Sharkey? A mí, también periodista, no me parece correcto que divulgues Ud. notícias tendenciosas a sus lectores acerca de los países que piensan Uds. ser obligados a actuar cómo Uds. nos determinan.

En caso de esta nota ser publicada, lo que me parece dudoso, informo a los lectores de su blog que los dos pilotos están impedidos de dejar el país hasta que se esclarezca las razones del accidente que mató a 155 brasileños, lo que por supuesto no implica en estar los dos pilotos detenidos, sino que en proceso de investigación como ocurre en cualquier accidente con muertos, sea aéreo, terrestre o lo que sea.

Mr. Sharkey, cómo sería tratados dos hipoteticos pilotos involucrados en un accidente aéreo en EEUU con 155 estadunidenses muertos? Como terroristas?

Su respuesta, caso la haya, será publicada en Brasil. Saludos.

2:21 PM


wcastro said...
Sr. Repórter.
Imagine se este "acidente" ocorresse no espaço aéreo dos Estados Unidos da América...
"Um jato particular brasileiro, derruba um Boeing americano, causando a morte de 155 pessoas..."
Vocês não pensariam duas vezes antes de suspeitar de "terrorismo", imediatamente os causadores do acidente estariam em uma “sala de tortura” sendo interrogados através de diversas táticas para confirmar se o ato foi de fato terrorista.
O Sr. não acha um absurdo dar declarações irônicas, expressando em primeiro lugar preocupação com seus "amigos"?
Mesmo diante de tamanha calamidade, o sr. não parece ver a realidade: “vocês” mataram 155 mil pessoas? 155 mil vidas?
Neste momento existem mais de 100 mil famílias sofrendo por terem perdido seus entes queridos, sem nem mesmo sonhar com a chance de um funeral com o caixão aberto.
Meu caro, de fato concordo que um ACIDENTE ocorreu, mas não se faça de vítima. As únicas vítimas estão desaparecidas em uma floresta no meio do nada ou estão também entre os familiares, que sofrem terrivelmente, não só por saberem que perderam sua família, mas por estarem cientes que esta perda foi de uma maneira horrivelmente trágica! Tudo isso por conta de atitudes aparentemente ilícitas do grupo de voava no Legacy, seus amigos, que demonstraram irresponsabilidade ao alterar as configurações típicas de vôo para burlar a fiscalização. Estes atos mais pareceram testes com o "novo brinquedinho";
Logo, antes de “soltar” outro comentário "ilustre", pense no que realmente aconteceu...
Pense que talvez o Sr. não tenha nunca mais uma boa noite de sono.

2:28 PM


beagle said...
Many of the comments posted on this blog are outrageous and completely inappropriate. I can't help but wonder if there is a major cultural or language misunderstanding here.

There is absolutely NOTHING in Mr. Sharkey's very brief blog post that suggests or warrants the hate-filled vitriol so many Brazilians are posting here.

There seems to be great misunderstanding over Mr. Sharkey's phrase "the fate of the two pilots." Where did he say they were mistreated? Did he say they were being tortured? If you read Mr. Sharkey's full column in today's New York Times, he does not have a bad word to say about how the Brazilian military officials treated him, his fellow passengers, or crew.

You who are convinced that "fate" is a poor choice of words and means something sinister do not fully understand English. The word has a range of meanings and you are choosing a very inaccurate, malicious interpretation.

He simply doesn't know what will happen to the pilots. When will they get to see their families again? Will they be charged with a crime? Maybe they did something wrong, maybe they didn't. Mr. Sharkey, like all of us, simply doesn't know. If you people take that as an insult to Brazil, that's pretty ridiculous.

And where do people draw the conclusion that he doesn't care about 155 dead? "...all of us are deeply shaken by the loss of all those people in the 737" he writes. In his long New York Times story he says in more detail how wounded and emotionally wrecked they all felt when they learned how many people died in the collision. They had no idea what had happened at the time of the accident.

This page is Mr. Sharkey's blog. Do you people understand what a blog is? It is an informal, personal journal. He is a professional journalist and his profession writing is published today in the New York Times. If you want to judge his professional, journalistic report of the accident, read that. Not this, a personal blog page.

And for those accusing the Legacy jet of "killing" 155 people -- how about you wait for the investigation to be completed? We DO NOT KNOW what happened or how it happened. Airplane accidents are very complex. There are many questions to be answered. The jury is still out.

It is amazing how small a provocation -- a misinterpretation of a few words in this blog -- has set off so many insecure Brazilians with tirades full of ignorant anti-Americanism. These comments reflect poorly on many of you. Fortunately, I know other Brazilians who would not share your views or behave this way, so I am not judging all Brazilians by the posts here. Nor should you people about Americans or anyone else. Especially from an innocent, heartfelt one paragraph blog posting.

3:00 PM


Jaime said...
Mr. GAC in NY, NY.

Who are you to say anything about hypernationalism? Or you have forgotten that Americans are the best example of such thing? Please go back and read about your own history and what is defined as "Manifest Destiny", where the United States believed (maybe it still does?) that it had the "mission" to expand, spreading its form of democracy and freedom to the whole world.

We do thank Mr. Sharkey for posting his blog about the crash and actually thank God for his life and the lives of the others on his plane. We, or at least myself, also thank God for such a great nation that the United States of America is and will always be. Now, having said that, while Mr. Sharkey showed sympathy for the other lives that were lost, please pay close attention to his comments about being "extremelly worried about the fate of the two pilots". Is him also worried about the families and friends of the lost ones? Are you? Are you feeling the pain of a loved one lost at this time? Can you understand such pain? Please educate us "third-world country" Brazilians how we should behave in such a moment, would you? Would you behave the same Mr. GAC, if you were living the same situation? Or we should just release the American pilots without any further investigation that could lead the Brazilian Authorities to better understand the nature of the accident. Or better yet, if found that the American pilots did make a mistake and turned off some sort of equipment that could have avoided the accidents, should the Brazilian Authorities just release them, pad them on their back and say: "Well done. Good job!"?

3:30 PM


Macaco Prego said...
As a journalist I am apalled by your article on the 'heroic' ordeal you supposily went through. Some facts are not only not true, but also clear imagination of a very imaginative mind (Your flight was clipped?I thought your shades were shut?!How could you know that?) . As a human being I am sickened by your coldness. As a Brazilian I am chocked by a sort of arrogant patritiotism that considers people only the ones born under uncle´s sam protection. The pilots have been receiving royal treatment considering the horrific crime they committed. Thanks to your heroes, and their irresponsible behavior, 155 families have a loveone to cry for. The investigation now indicates that the Legacy pilotes turned off the colision equipment and the black box show us the reckless behavior perpetrated by them. But that´s just the typical american behavior ; going overseas bringing about tragedies to transform them into indiana jones like tales. But what do we know? We are just a bunch o primitive people living along beasts in a jungle, serving as timber to your bonfire of vanity. Shame on you Mr. Sharkey!

G.G.A, Brasília, Brazil

3:33 PM


Macaco Prego said...
As a journalist I am apalled by your article on the 'heroic' ordeal you supposily went through. Some facts are not only not true, but also clear imagination of a very imaginative mind (Your flight was clipped?I thought your shades were shut?!How could you know that?) . As a human being I am sickened by your coldness. As a Brazilian I am chocked by a sort of arrogant patritiotism that considers people only the ones born under uncle´s sam protection. The pilots have been receiving royal treatment considering the horrific crime they committed. Thanks to your heroes, and their irresponsible behavior, 155 families have a loveone to cry for. The investigation now indicates that the Legacy pilotes turned off the colision equipment and the black box show us the reckless behavior perpetrated by them. But that´s just the typical american behavior ; going overseas bringing about tragedies to transform them into indiana jones like tales. But what do we know? We are just a bunch o primitive people living along beasts in a jungle, serving as timber to your bonfire of vanity. Shame on you Mr. Sharkey!

G.G.A, Brasília, Brazil

3:36 PM


FX Rezins said...
Dear Mr Sharkey.
First of all, let me say that I trully am glad that at least you and your fellow travellers survived this horrible collision!

When I read your article in the NYT I hoped you would use your "borrowed time" and voice to try and help elucidanting this most horrifying episode.

But instead you wrote this post, stating that you are worried about the pilots and that you were kept for 36 hour in some former top secret air base. What was the goal of those words? I don´t see any support to the families of the victims, nor do I see any gratitude for still being alive, and safe at home!

The pilots of the Legacy airplane have to stay in Brazil to help determine what happenned up there. Now, do you think they would be of any help if they were in the US? Are you of any help, Mr Sharkey?

You had the right to go back home since you are one of the victims and have probably not done anything to cause this accident. But if the transponder was actually turned down, causing the crash, don´t you think the responsible person(s) for that should be held here to respond for their negligence?

Don´t worry Mr Sharkey, Brazil does not have any CIA hidden bases or Guantanamo bases across our territory, or any other country´s, where to torture foreign citizens.

Actually you noted in your NYT article that a "forensic doctor" examined you and your companions. Let me explain what that was for: that is to make sure that if you are mistreated in any ways, or even tortured, you will be able to prove it sue the State by showing the medical report made at the moment you entered the police station. That is called due process of law, and is what prevent people from being illegally held in prison. Brazil may not be the US, but it surely has its laws and, with the help of the US consulate, the two pilots will endure trial and responde for their acts, if there were any that caused the crash. That I can assure you.

What would the US authorities do if this accident had happenned in US airspace?

So, Mr Sharkey, who should you worry about? Two pilots who probably saved your life just after sentencing 155 people to death because they played with their new toy? You, who survived a deadly crash and are now at your home with your family?

Shouldn´t you be worrying about the people who lost their loved ones?

Do not post anything tomorrow. Take your time to go through all of it again and again. An then post something more in accordance with the event.

Why would you be alive if not to help relieving the sorrow caused by the absence of those who aren´t anymore?

If you actually got to this bottom line, thank you.

3:41 PM


celia rabelo silva said...
Respect my country and my people, ok!!!
And answers to me, you thinks that your country (United States of America) are serious country? Country whom war only makes, that has lain for your people? We know of everything. Thinks on your accident, thinks that you could have died and stops to write things dull in your blog.
RESPECT TO BE RESPECTED!!!
PEACE

4:37 PM


Comment Deleted
This post has been removed by the author.

6:25 PM


Hopefull900 said...
I’m glad for the survivors, especially the pilot and co-pilot.
So, you’re worried about those irresponsible ones who killed 155 people?
What about the victims, the families left behind?
Blowing up buildings deliberately is a political act, but playing video games with real planes and killing innocent victims is a different story.
That was not the time or place to test an aircraft the way they did. I really hope that Brazilian Authorities have them rot in prison to pay for the 155 lives they took.

6:27 PM


jamanatus said...
It´s almost hard to believe that you could write such a post like this one. Express your feelings to the 155 families that are suffering right now, as you´re having dinner in your "borrowed time". Of course you have to thank God for being alive, however, remember to pray to the same God to keep all the dead people under His protection. Brazilians are waiting to hear from you soon, but as someone said previously, be carefull, not to hurt people that are already suffering.

7:04 PM


Reasonable Observer said...
In aviation history, when a large plane and a small plane collide, both crash. This time, one plane survived. People would expect 162 dead, not 155 dead. (That even 7 people lived says a lot about the quality of Embraer.)

If a car and a bus crashed, and only the people in the car lived, would you assume that they must be at fault? That because they are alive, they must have caused the crash? No. Only the investigation can find out who caused the crash.

Imagine you knew the driver of the car. Would you not feel concerned for the driver, if he was innocent or if he was guilty?

When Mr. Sharkey wrote his essay, no one knew if the driver was innocent or guilty. Only after the investigation will we know if they are innocent or guilty. People can feel sorrow for the dead, and yet worry about the living.

http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr

No history da aviação, quando um plano grande e um plano pequeno se batem e se colidem, ambos deixam de funcionar. Esta vez, um plano sobreviveu. No history haveria 162 inoperantes, não 155 inoperantes. (que os 7 povos viveram diz muito sobre a qualidade de Embraer.)

Imagine um carro e uma barra-ônibus para ter um acidente. Se somente os povos no carro vivessem, você suporia que devem ser a causa, que o excitador é culpado? Que porque estão vivos, devem ter causado o acccident? Não. Somente a investigação pode encontrar para fora quem causou o acidente.

Imagine que você soube o excitador do carro. Você não sentiria interessado para o excitador, se fosse inocente ou se fosse culpado?

Quando o Sr. Sharkey escreveu seu essay, ninguém souberam se o excitador fosse inocente ou culpado. Somente depois que a vontade da investigação nós sabemos se forem inocentes ou culpados. Os povos podem sentir o sorrow para os mortos, no entanto preocupam-se sobre seres humanos vivos.

9:46 PM
_________________________________
Second response area:

34 Comments -Show Original Post
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Rosario Gomez said...
hi Mr Sharkey.
I´m glad to hear that you are safe and survived this terrible accident.

I´m a blogger also http://dccolombia.blogspot.com and journalist in Colombia for W radio which is also in Miami, NY, Mexico, Panamá, Land Spain. We would like to a have a brief interview with you. let me know if you accept this by sending me an e- mail rosario01gomez@gmail.com or my mobile 0057 300 218 4846. I would apreciate that...

Best Regards...
Rosario Gómez

7:49 AM


Carl said...
Dear Mr Sharkey,

Well, now I know why you are so worried about the Americans pilots, detained by the Brazilian military. There are some contradictions in your statement.

1- The level 37 (odd= south bound), taken by the Legacy, was a wrong way. The Legacy should be in the level 36 or 38 (even=north bound).

2- Yes, the Legacy transponder was off. Why?

3- It's almost impossible, if the Legacy was flying nicely and stabilized, on it's level, even if it was a wrong level, to hit just the wing edge. Then, it's totally impossible, if the plane was stabilized and leveled, to hit the wing and the back wing edges at the same time. The Legacy attitude could not be stabilized and leveled. To hit the boeing in such way, the Legacy was in a different attitude, like trying to skip the colision, rolling itself down.

8:40 AM


Carl said...
Just one more thing:

This statement is not accurate also:
"the Boeing 737 on a domestic flight that seems to have clipped us"

If the Legacy was flying at 37000 feet (wrong way), it seems that YOUR plane have clipped the Boeing.

8:53 AM


Marcella B.D. said...
Sr. Repórter.
Se eu fosse o senhor, me calaria com a preocupação besta do que vai acontecer aos "coitadinhos" que estavam no LEGACY, e respeitaria a dor de mais de 100 famílias que perderem os seus entes queridos. Afinal de contas, quem não deveria estar naquela rota eram vocês.Pare de sensacionalismo!!!

9:30 AM


Felipe Bravo said...
Wow, while I don't endorse Mr. Sharkey's concerns about the "fate" of the pilots, I can't believe that some people here are blaming the whole Legacy jet and all of its occupants for the crash. Come on people! Is Joe Sharkey to blame because the Legacy was flying at 37.000? The pilot, maybe, the Air Traffic Control, definitely, but a journalist sitting in the passenger section?

10:02 AM


Luciana said...
It is amazing ( and good) that you´re all safe and sound.
Well well wel... who would say that a Brazilian airplane would survive and a Boeing... American...would not. Nedless to say that it is a good time to remind American people that it was SANTOUS DUMONT - a Brazilian - who invented the airplane, not the Wright Brothers...ok?
By the way, you could have been more sensitive to the victims´suffering. Shame on the US.

10:15 AM


Russel Biffs said...
felipe,

nobody is blaming Mr. Sharkey for the accident.

What we are blaming is his "bad choice of words" (let's call that way) to describe to his readers (mostly americans) that their people (the pilots and executives) are seem to be "arrested without charges" and his is worried about "their fate"....


This is very odd, coming from a country where customs officials arrest travellers at the airports (sometimes families going to Disney) and keep them locked for several hours with no reason...

The way he stated his concerns contribute to give the bad impression of third world countries.

His twisted view of the facts (or twisted writing) is very good to envolve his readers (some dumb americans that doesn't even know to point their country in a globe)...

He writes like he is writing a romance... no problem with that... But twisting the facts, this is yellow press.

11:04 AM


Carl said...
Felipe,

I'm not blaming, I'm pointing out some doubts, contradictions. It would be good for Mr Sharkey try to clarify or correct my questions. Mr. Sharkey is a journalist, informing people is his job.

However, he doesn't want to give any interview. A Brazilian newspapers told that Mr. Sharkey hanged the phone on their journalist faces.

Also, Mr. Sharkey last article was directed to the regular American reader, trying to spin the worry about Americans fellows being held by the Brazilian military (in a "top secret base"). That was his tone.

But, the point here is: Mr. Sharkey's words are good to inform people, but it is not good enough to release his fellows friends from the "top secret base in the jungle".

Mr Sharkey's words would be nice to inform Brazilian people about what happened, specially the families involved in this tragic disaster.
All Brazilians are hungry for information. But Mr. Sharkey didn't help so much. He focused his concerns on his fellow friends detained on a "top secret miltary base in the jungle".

Therefore, we need to wait the investigation and see if Mr. Sharkey is telling the truth or not. I hope the Brazilian authorities, after the investigation, can tell the truth, or at least give some satisfactory explanation.


Anyway, the passangers, in the case a group of executives flying a brand new private jet, with direct connection with the pilot, they can be responsible too. It's different from a regular Boeing where the passangers have nothing to do with the pilot's decisions.

The "having fun" scenario is perfectly possible. In this case of a private jet, the pilot would not have "fun" and play with the brand new jet without the passanger's consent.

The "having fun" scenario would explain the transponder off. That would explain Mr. Sharkey's concerns.

Therefore, before the investigation gets concluded, before clarifying everything, the pilots and the passangers must stay detained.

11:09 AM


ttj said...
Obviously there was a conspiracy here, right? Obviously it was the evil American journalist (a passenger) and his nasty pilot friends who were behind this tragedy. That fits perfectly into the simplistic nationalistic mindset of a lot of dim-witted people who believe they know exactly what happened at an accident they didn't witness. The truth is, it was the Wright brothers who caused this accident by insisting they invented the airplane, when really, we all know it was Santos-Dumont. And it's clear from reading these comments here that all Americans are gun-wielding child killers who should be locked away with Fernandinho Beira-Mar, and Marcola. Oh shame...shame on the U.S.

11:22 AM


Caroline said...
Our hearts and thoughts are entirely with the families of those tragically lost as a result of this sad event. Americans, such as myself and the small school where I teach send out condolences to the families and friends of all those aboard Gol 737. My father was a passenger on the Legecy and I have never felt such strong feeling of joy to see him and sadness to watch as his heart sank with the memory of so many people perishing on the 737. A reporter's words are his business, a survivor's words are raw and emotional. As a daughter, I can say that our family is thinking constantly of those who mourn right now. Those words and feelings are hard to get across to the press, but please trust that my family is so devastated by this tragedy.

11:27 AM


Marrocos said...
It's for comments like this one that the US image around the world is crashing. As a reporter you could try to be more accurate in your writing. You (we) can not forget that US would act like Brazilian's government investigating the accident.

11:37 AM


Caroline said...
My family's hearts and thoughts are with the families and friends of those who perished in this horrible tragedy. There are no words to properly express the devastation in our hearts as we slowly recieved the news that 155 people were lost. My father was aboard the Legecy, a passenger, a father, a husband, and a grandfather. I cannot describe my joy to hold my father yesterday when he returned safely to the States and the sadness in our souls as we watched mourn all those who died. A reporter's words can never express the feelings in their hearts and as we feel for the pilots who have yet to return to their families so they too can know the feeling of a long embrace after such a harrowing experience do not doubt that we will never stop thinking of all those who cannot again embrace their loved ones. Please, our blessings are with you.

11:38 AM


Lisa said...
I second my sister's comments on this horrendous tragedy. While not able to see or speak to our father as of yet, I am forever grateful that he was able to be in the arms of one of his 3 children upon return yesterday and will be forever deeply saddened and mournful that the families of the crash victims are grieving the loss of thier loved ones. Our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies are, and always will be, with all of those affected by these events and the families of those that were lost. Words cannot express or by any means do justice to the sympathy and compassion we feel for everyone involved.

12:10 PM


zefonseca2006 said...
Your plane was in the wrong place, doing the wrong stuff, at the wrong time. And your plane(whether you are innocent or not) killed 155 people because of that, all that is a fact, not senseless accusations.

It has been proved that your plane was in the wrong altitude and the tip of your wing destroyed the Boeing.

Funny enough, the brazilian plane saved your life, while the american plane did not save the 155 brazilians.

What was the tip of your wing doing in vertical position at the wrong altitude? Your plane was doing acrobatics? You are worried about the fate of that pilot? My goodness. We are a democracy and we do not have the death penalty here, we would be worried if the same had happened in Texas, all brazilians on a plane doing acrobatics at the wrong altitude would be facing jail time in the USA. Yet you are a free man according to our law, free enough to be there posting crap about the accident.

I guess since we're latins it will be expected that some people paint you as "the evil americans". I will not. I will however point out that most of the biological espionage happening over the Amazon is done by "news reporters" and us Brazilians are more than well informed about all the drugs you have patents for based on Amazon plants.

The least you could do is apologize and cut this opportunistic journalism.

What were you doing over the Amazon, flying at the wrong altitude without permission?

If it was the same situation in the USA, and you were brazilian, you would be in jail now with a lot of explaining to do.

Pitty brazilian authorities are to lax and let you go, so you could post your tabloid journalism on the web, mr "survivor". Congratulations for surviving, somehow, for some reason, your life is worth more than the 155 others that were not lucky enough to be on a brazilian made plane.

12:43 PM


Senseandpeace said...
Those who are trying to make it a US x Brasil event are out of hand and should stop and think before post.

It was a tragedy to all people involved, including the ones who survived but will forever be atached to sad memories as 155 passed away in this terrible accident.

Please, do not make a fool of yourselves and read the daughters posts.

I agree Mr. Sharkey did not make a good choice of words in his first post and is still showing some prejudice in his report to NYT. Yet, it does not make any better if Brazilians write here agains americans. Blind nationalism does not do any better then prejudice and, I repeat, It is not a competition or a conflict between US and Brasil or American and Brazilian citizens. It is a tragedy involving human beings, regardless of where they were born.

1:41 PM


zefonseca2006 said...
"I agree Mr. Sharkey did not make a good choice of words in his first post and is still showing some prejudice in his report to NYT."

Thank you, it is all we brazilians wished to hear.

" Yet, it does not make any better if Brazilians write here agains americans."

That is not the case. The fact is that if a brazilian crew did the same in the USA, our journalists would not be posting crap on the web. Mr. Sharkey owes us an apology.

"Blind nationalism does not do any better then prejudice and, I repeat, It is not a competition or a conflict between US and Brasil or American and Brazilian citizens."

Blind nationalism? This journalist was part of a crew of a plane which was doing something illegal(flying 37.000 feet, not 36.000 as the brazilian regulations determine for south-north flights) and he is "worried" about the reckless pilot who is very properly arrested for causing an accident which took 155 lives regardless of nationality.

" It is a tragedy involving human beings, regardless of where they were born."

Well, we agree there. Mr. Sharkey owes us an apology, for his insolence and lack of judgement presenting himself as a brave survivor when all he is is a member of a very suspect crew flying at a wrong altitude without permission and causing the deaths of 155 people.

He was NOT part of a commercial flight and completely innocent, he was part of a petit tight knitted familiar crew that caused a major accident. He has a lot to explain as to why they were there, what exactly caused the accident and much much more instead of publishing this BS about "being worried for his comrades in jail".

1:51 PM


Gigliany said...
Olá Joe.
É com muita pena e desprezo que me refiro à vocês americanos.
Vocês eram minoria naquele avião, e foram vocês que derrubaram o 737-800 da Gol, tirando 155 vidas de pessoas cheias de sonhos e saudade.
Agora vc me vem dizer que está preocupado com aqueles pilotos rodas presas? Ah, pimenta no c... dos outros é refresco!
Eu duvido se sua esposa estivesse naquele vôo, se você Joe Sharkey estaria preocupado com o estado desses pilotos.

Concordo com muitos que te criticaram aqui, você Mr. Joe, éstá em busca de Sencionalismo!!!!!

2:05 PM


wcastro said...
Sr. Repórter.
Imagine se este "acidente" ocorresse no espaço aéreo dos Estados Unidos da América...
"Um jato particular brasileiro, derruba um Boeing americano, causando a morte de 155 pessoas..."
Vocês não pensariam duas vezes antes de suspeitar de "terrorismo", imediatamente os causadores do acidente estariam em uma “sala de tortura” sendo interrogados através de diversas táticas para confirmar se o ato foi de fato terrorista.
O Sr. não acha um absurdo dar declarações irônicas, expressando em primeiro lugar preocupação com seus "amigos"?
Mesmo diante de tamanha calamidade, o sr. não parece ver a realidade: “vocês” mataram 155 mil pessoas? 155 mil vidas?
Neste momento existem mais de 100 mil famílias sofrendo por terem perdido seus entes queridos, sem nem mesmo sonhar com a chance de um funeral com o caixão aberto.
Meu caro, de fato concordo que um ACIDENTE ocorreu, mas não se faça de vítima. As únicas vítimas estão desaparecidas em uma floresta no meio do nada ou estão também entre os familiares, que sofrem terrivelmente, não só por saberem que perderam sua família, mas por estarem cientes que esta perda foi de uma maneira horrivelmente trágica! Tudo isso por conta de atitudes aparentemente ilícitas do grupo de voava no Legacy, seus amigos, que demonstraram irresponsabilidade ao alterar as configurações típicas de vôo para burlar a fiscalização. Estes atos mais pareceram testes com o "novo brinquedinho";
Logo, antes de “soltar” outro comentário "ilustre", pense no que realmente aconteceu...
Pense que talvez o Sr. não tenha nunca mais uma boa noite de sono.

2:17 PM


zefonseca2006 said...
Prezado Sr. wcastro, o protesto é válido. Porém vale ressaltar que não cabem 155 mil pessoas num Boeing 737.

Gostaría de introduzir o novo e carinhoso apelido para o bravo sobrevivente jornalista: Zé Tubarãozinho (Joe Sharkey)

Olha que legal: mesmo sabendo da gravidade do que seus amigos fizeram, o Tubarãozinho agora afirma que tomou uma cervejada e contou piadas após o acidente.

Mr. Sharkey, please come back to Brazil to have some more beer and tell some of the post-accident jokes at the nearest Federal Police station.

2:35 PM


beagle said...
Many of the comments posted on this blog are outrageous and completely inappropriate. I can't help but wonder if there is a major cultural or language misunderstanding here.

There is absolutely NOTHING in Mr. Sharkey's very brief blog post that suggests or warrants the hate-filled vitriol so many Brazilians are posting here.

There seems to be great misunderstanding over Mr. Sharkey's phrase "the fate of the two pilots." Where did he say they were mistreated? Did he say they were being tortured? If you read Mr. Sharkey's full column in today's New York Times, he does not have a bad word to say about how the Brazilian military officials treated him, his fellow passengers, or crew.

You who are convinced that "fate" is a poor choice of words and means something sinister do not fully understand English. The word has a range of meanings and you are choosing a very inaccurate, malicious interpretation.

He simply doesn't know what will happen to the pilots. When will they get to see their families again? Will they be charged with a crime? Maybe they did something wrong, maybe they didn't. Mr. Sharkey, like all of us, simply doesn't know. If you people take that as an insult to Brazil, that's pretty ridiculous.

And where do people draw the conclusion that he doesn't care about 155 dead? "...all of us are deeply shaken by the loss of all those people in the 737" he writes. In his long New York Times story he says in more detail how wounded and emotionally wrecked they all felt when they learned how many people died in the collision. They had no idea what had happened at the time of the accident.

This page is Mr. Sharkey's blog. Do you people understand what a blog is? It is an informal, personal journal. He is a professional journalist and his profession writing is published today in the New York Times. If you want to judge his professional, journalistic report of the accident, read that. Not this, a personal blog page.

And for those accusing the Legacy jet of "killing" 155 people -- how about you wait for the investigation to be completed? We DO NOT KNOW what happened or how it happened. Airplane accidents are very complex. There are many questions to be answered. The jury is still out.

It is amazing how small a provocation -- a misinterpretation of a few words in this blog -- has set off so many insecure Brazilians with tirades full of ignorant anti-Americanism. These comments reflect poorly on many of you. Fortunately, I know other Brazilians who would not share your views or behave this way, so I am not judging all Brazilians by the posts here. Nor should you people about Americans or anyone else. Especially from an innocent, heartfelt one paragraph blog posting.

3:00 PM


zefonseca2006 said...
Mr. beagle, maybe you did miss something.

Mr. Sharkey said he is worried about the 2 pilots. He should be worried about the 155 families instead. He is apparently capitalising on his pilot's "brave skills", while all they did was reckless flying which caused immense loss.

What is irritating is Mr. Sharkey's complete lack of respect and absolute insolence. If a brazilian reporter did this in the USA I would be the first to criticize as harshly as Mr. Sharkey.

Did they do something wrong? Apparently yes. There is no legal 37.000 feet flying altitude south-to-north in Brazil. Yet he prefers glorifying the reckless piloting, even calling it "great FFF flying", according to his own report of the incident.

Go read first please, see what we are talking about. You clearly missed something because you do seem well intentioned.

3:10 PM


Charles Krup said...
This was a national tragedy in a nation that has always been a close ally to the US, uses US technology and training. Mr. Sharkey seems to be in denial — it is, after all the first step to cope with a tragedy.

The NYT should pull off the call for "frightening" comments, to stop offering room for speculation and scary experiences while a national disaster confounds a nation that does not usually have them in the scale we unfortunately got used to, in the US.

To Mr. Sharkey, my suggestion is for him to follow the advice of Ghandi, in the film, when Ghandi tells a man how to avoid hell. Working to help victims of air disasters would help Mr. Sharkey develop a more balanced, and human, view of tragedies. You now have the time to do it, Mr. Sharkey. You could help — go back to Brazil and understand what’s going on.

3:29 PM


Macaco Prego said...
As a journalist I am apalled by your article on the 'heroic' ordeal you supposily went through. Some facts are not only not true, but also clear imagination of a very imaginative mind (Your flight was clipped?I thought your shades were shut?!How could you know that?) . As a human being I am sickened by your coldness. As a Brazilian I am chocked by a sort of arrogant patritiotism that considers people only the ones born under uncle´s sam protection. The pilots have been receiving royal treatment considering the horrific crime they committed. Thanks to your heroes, and their irresponsible behavior, 155 families have a loveone to cry for. The investigation now indicates that the Legacy pilotes turned off the colision equipment and the black box show us the reckless behavior perpetrated by them. But that´s just the typical american behavior ; going overseas bringing about tragedies to transform them into indiana jones like tales. But what do we know? We are just a bunch o primitive people living along beasts in a jungle, serving as timber to your bonfire of vanity. Shame on you Mr. Sharkey!

G.G.A, Brasília, Brazil

3:39 PM


Alexsander said...
It's like a car crash, where a small car in the wrong way barely touch a bus and the bus falls of the bridge - all passengers dead. The car's occupants are lucky to be alive? Yes, but the car's driver is still guilty of reckless driving.

The Legacy's owner should pay also the damages (personal and material).

3:40 PM


William said...
Senhor "Shurek",

Pessoas iguais a voce merecem meu total desprezo, assim como o de toda nação brasileira!!!

Adimiro a nação norte americana, e pelo que vejo aqui, eles tabem repudiam sua atitude imbecil.

155 vidas ceifadas por irresponsabilidade de voces que estavam no LEGACY.

Vc eh tao burro e sensacionalista, que teve a ousadia de dizer que pousou em um base secreta... putz, tamanha ignorancia, se ela fosse secreta voces jamais pousariam lá!!!

Enfim, no meu ponto vista voce era o unico que deveria ter morrido... que azar dos EUA!!!! kkkk

_|_ !!!

3:45 PM


Senseandpeace said...
The investigations are not conclude, so I think people should wait and let the authorities deal with it.

I can not see how to attack an American citizen or all Americans like some are doing here can help in anything, but just make you look fool and unfair to a journalist that yes, is prejudice and showed it twice (just read the article and his description of the deposition and the pictures... he is always dropping here and there a small comment to diminish our authorities - and it is not about the word "fate", it was his lack of respect for 155 deaths, showing more concerns about the 2 pilots, and his made up "top secret in the middle of jungle" description, lol, top secret and so easily found!, so well recieved, good dinner ahn?)

Anyhow, although Mr. Sharkey should deal better with his image of Brazil and stop misinform his readers, it does not make him a criminal, nor the pilots.

It is really a shame on you who post this out of base comments and instead of defend Brazil's cause (if there is any to be defended here) just cooperate to make we look like the banana republic you so much hate to think of.

If you hate USA, try a blog about "I hate USA". And try to not make this incident a point to your cause. It is a tragedy. We will have to wait for the investigation to end.

Of course, it is correct that the authorities kept the pilots available in Brazil, as they might, or might not, be responsible in some degree for what happend. But let's not jump to conclusions nor blame someone who was just a passenger and is a kind of travel guide jornalist who accepted an invitation for a free flight. And at this moment, just an human being... think of it, how would you feel and what would you write and say few hours after discover yourself alive after a disaster which caused hundreds to die?

Talking about families... did you notice Mr. Sharkey has one too, and they are reading this comments?

4:00 PM


Pedroramos_brasilia said...
Mr Sharkey,
Enventough you're all safe and sound, and with your clean concience (you and your "buddies" who you claim to be here in Brazil undeservedly ), 155 other people died for (and I guarantee this to u) no reason at all. The only reason was the careless behavior of the ones in your plane. I completely agree with "carl" and you should, at least, have some regard for the ones who lost their family in the accident.

4:20 PM


Parenzi said...
Mr Sharkey

Gosto bastante do povo americano e discordo do excessivo anti americanismo pelo mundo.
Contudo são pessoas como você com declarações equivocadas que geram a ira de outros povos. Quem são os americanos para falar em tratamento bom ou ruim diante do que acontece quando brasileiros são parados na imigração Americana.
Lamento que você também não estivesse retido no Brasil, pois sabe-se lá o que ocorria dentro daquele avião.
A questão é muito simples. O povo brasileiro tem que punir severamente, como ocorre nos USA, todo estrangeiro que cometer irresponsabilidades em nosso território e neste caso, tudo vai se desenhando para uma comprovação de culpa na condução do avião em que estava presente.
O que ocorreu é muito grave e acho que seria de bom arbítrio a sua retratação ou que no mínimo evitasse dizer bobagens diante de situação tão dramática.
reflita se o contrário tivesse ocorrido dentro de seu país!

4:45 PM


zefonseca2006 said...
senseandpeace, nobody hates the USA, except perhaps those americans who go to other countries do what is illegal in your own country.

If you were flying in the USA at 1000 feet above your regulatory flying altitude and you killed 155 people, you would not be free to blog and brag about much of anything at all, whether you're brazilian or american, and you know that. How does that make us angry neighbors of the victims anti-american???

I went home last night and on the elevator there is a note of condelescence for my neighbor, former administrator of my building - passenger of flight 1907.

I tell you that Mr. Sharkey's bragging of the Legacy's pilot's talents will not bring him any sympathy from down here.

Why should I wait for investigations when Mr. Sharkey himself said he was at 37.000 feet high? That is illegal altitude to fly south-north!

Mr. Sharkey bragged that he had beer and told jokes after the accident. He said this after he knew the gravity of the accident. Is that appropriate thing to say?

How can I feel sympathy for him? I can't and I am behing honest and signing under my real name here. I protest for all the families of the dead and I ask of Mr. Sharkey that he do not try to capitalise on this story with this type of journalism.

As for his family being here, I would have expected that, if they have any sympathy for the 155 families themselves, at all, that they would have had their dad apologize for his attempt to capitalise on this story by now.

4:45 PM


L Assunção said...
I am amazed by the fact the you and all of your group are safe, but please, don't judge our way to investigate the situation. you and no other should be free to leave brazil until this situation was solved, 36 hours doens't compaire with the time that thoses families are here in my city criyng for someone very special.

I don't know what to say to my friends that came to me and told me that some parent or friend were in that plane and you worried about to guys that may caused this? If they are nothing to hide, be sure that they will come home like you and in the and be glad to help the police. But be sure that the time they stay here, they will be treat well, here im my country we are really nice and polite (yes, we take shower and eat real food, we also have cars heres you know?)

and the next time please think twice, because the way you wrote that, you insulte my people and they don't deserve this.

4:53 PM


L Assunção said...
I am amazed by the fact the you and all of your group are safe, but please, don't judge our way to investigate the situation. you and no other should be free to leave brazil until this situation was solved, 36 hours doens't compaire with the time that thoses families are here in my city criyng for someone very special.

I don't know what to say to my friends that came to me and told me that some parent or friend were in that plane and you worried about to guys that may caused this? If they are nothing to hide, be sure that they will come home like you and in the and be glad to help the police. But be sure that the time they stay here, they will be treat well, here im my country we are really nice and polite (yes, we take shower and eat real food, we also have cars heres you know?)

and the next time please think twice, because the way you wrote that, you insulte my people and they don't deserve this.

4:55 PM


Felipe Bravo said...
OK, this has become totally ridiculous. The investigation by the Brazilian authorities is still under way, and will be for at least a couple of months. Yet still, a bunch of people here are so happy because they found THE culprits in this tragedy! Come on... I, too, felt the choice of words of mr. Sharkey wasn't too appropriate, but such an uproar for a few lines posted in a blog??!! Luckily, FAB is a professional force, and will show none of the bias some people display here. Remember also, that the ATC (brazilian, by the way) had a role in this tragic story... "accidents" like this never happen for a single reason. If you find only one culprit, beware! you are bound to another tragedy in the future!

5:30 PM


blarghysquared said...
Good lord, people! The man almost died! It's completely understandable that he would feel some compassion for the people who, according what he knew when he wrote the blog post and the NYTimes article, he thought saved his life. He was relating his experiences over the last couple of days - immediately after the accident, all he knew was that his pilots had somehow managed to put the plane on the ground. He didn't know anything more about the circumstances surrounding the crash, and merely related what people told him - which is *what journalists do*.

Are there really this many Brazilians that are so insecure about their nation that they need to come on this man's blog and attack not only his passing comments about Brazilian authorities, but his integrity as a journalist, and his entire country? Turning this into a "My dad can beat up your dad" contest of nationalism is mind-bogglingly immature, and indeed, insulting to the victims. Whatever the cause of the accident, this has NOTHING to do with nationality - it is either a mechanical malfunction, or a horrible mistake by one or more pilots.

Some commenters are even going so far as to accuse Mr. Sharkey of being responsible for the deaths of the people on the 737. I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life. EVEN IF the pilots of the business jet are responsible for the accident - and this has yet to be proven - to accuse Mr. Sharkey of somehow having had something to do with the collision is beyond the pale. He was a passenger, and is as innocent in this mess as the far more unfortunate passengers on the 737.

And to suggest that he did not feel sorry for the people who died is mind-boggling. Here's what he actually wrote:

"A Boeing 737 with 155 people on board was reported missing right where we had been hit. Before that moment, we had all been bonding, joking about our close call. ... Instead we now bowed our heads in a long moment of silence, with the sound of muffled tears."

And:

"I later thought that perhaps the pilot of the Brazilian airliner had also saved our lives because of his quick reactions. If only his own passengers could say the same."

And finally:

"But laughs, such as they were, died out by now as we thought again and again of the bodies still unclaimed in the jungle, and how their lives and ours had intersected, literally and metaphorically, for one horrible split second."

Do these sound like the words of an ignorant American who doesn't care about Brazilian lives? Of course not!

I can only conclude that this story is being spun in Brazil much differently than it is being reported in the English press, or that the Brazilian commenters who are attacking Mr. Sharkey are so blinded by grief or nationalistic anger that they are throwing reason to the wind. Do these Brazilians really hate America so much that you are willing to ignore the context of Mr. Sharkey's writing? And are they unable to see how unfair it is to bring up some (often legitimate) faults of the United States and its government when Mr. Sharkey is obviously not responsible for them?

I would suggest that everyone take a deep breath and think about how to mourn the victims on the 737, instead of looking for people to attack and blame.

7:37 PM


Rafael said...
now, after all, how do you see the conflicts in Midlle East? What do you think about Bush? What do think about money and gold? What is the difference between love and war?

Regards,

Rafael

8:41 PM

Here's the link to the blog:

http://www.joesharkey.com/

And here's the link to the news article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/03/business/03road.html?hp&ex=1159934400&en=e400a2a6d73b9dca&ei=5094&partner=homepage

There are more comments in after the article with similar tone.

Pretty standard. Rich Americans on one plane, poor Brasileros on the other. The Americans live, the Brasileros die. The Americans must pay blah blah blah.

I don't know if the pilots did anything wrong or not - two planes in a fairly wide-open space managed to hit each other. Was one plane a thousand feet higher or lower than it should have been? Was the transponder off? If so, then the pilots may be at fault. Where was ATC during all of this?

Also, the standard inferiority complex on the part of the Brasilians. Impossible to avoid, really, it's always there under the surface.

Ejack!,

I was about to post the following: "I read your entire post and was disappointed that Catacony hadn't chimed in on Sharkey's blog," but restrained myself and deleted it. Then I go back to the one day search seconds later and "BINGO" there's Cat. Jesus Cat, you're fast!!

One day after the crash MBL and I flew GOL from Salvador to Rio. In the airport, we saw about eight Brazilians refuse to fly on GOL and ask for refunds on their tickets. Needless to say, Bubble Lips wasn't too happy about flying them either. That is until I suggested she take the bus which takes 22 hours. She got on the plane and bitched the whole way.

Jag

If I had known that you were on that flight and your only other option was to spend 22 hours on a bus with MBL bitching and complaining for 21 hours, 49 minutes of the time, I would have phoned in a bomb threat for that fucker.