VZCZCXRO4271
OO RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #2532 3351831
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 011831Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7557
INFO RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE PRIORITY 5969
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 3487
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO PRIORITY 8791

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRASILIA 002532 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, CA/OCS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2007 
TAGS: CASC EAIR PREL BR
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON LEGACY PILOTS 
 
REF: Brasilia 2475 and previous 
 
Classified By: Classified by CG Simon Henshaw, reasons 1.5 b and 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  The Embassy believes that it is only a question 
of when, not if, the Legacy pilots, involved in the September 29 
collision that led to the crash of a GOL Boeing 737 and the 
deaths of all 154 persons aboard, are allowed to leave Brazil. 
While frustrated with the slow pace of events, the Embassy does 
not want to take any steps that could jeopardize this outcome. 
The chief investigator in the criminal case has stated that he 
expects the pilots to be able to depart as of December 13.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Embassy believes that the Brazilian courts, police, and 
government are ready to let the Legacy pilots leave the country, 
but that the cumbersome Brazilian legal process is making this 
take more time than it should.  In short, the GOB is where, but 
not when, we want it.  We believe, however, that there is a good 
chance that the Federal Court of Appeals in Brasilia will rule 
in favor of the pilots' habeas corpus petition (allowing them to 
depart Brazil) within the next two weeks. 
 
¶3. (U) According to November 29 Brazilian press reports, Renato 
Sayao, the Federal Police Delegate in charge of the criminal 
investigation, said the pilots will be free to leave the country 
as of December 13, after he had deposed them and completed his 
report.  He had planned to do so depose them a month ago, after 
deposing the flight controllers, but his timetable was thrown 
off by the controllers' refusal to meet with him.  He has now 
concluded the controllers' interviews and plans to meet with the 
pilots the week of December 4.  Press quoted Sayao as saying 
that the pilots could still be indicted for not following their 
flight plan, but also that they had not done anything wrong as 
he first suspected. 
 
¶4. (SBU) When contacted by the Embassy the same day, Sayao said 
that it was unlikely, but still possible the pilots could be 
indicted.  He added that the "odds" were that the flight 
controllers would be blamed for the accident.  Even if indicted, 
Sayao said the pilots would probably be allowed to leave, though 
adding that this was the court's decision, not his.  Sayao 
appeared to be tired of the whole affair.  He plans to take 30 
days leave beginning December 4, turning the case over to his 
deputy. 
 
¶5. (U) Public opinion, at first highly critical of the Legacy 
pilots has swung towards their favor, especially after a series 
of articles in Brazil's Veja magazine and Brazil's more 
responsible newspapers detailing the actual events of the crash. 
 It would be hard to find a Brazilian that would now blame the 
pilots. 
 
¶6. (C) The Embassy's lawyer (strictly protect), based in Sao 
Paulo and an associate of the pilots' Brazilian law team, has 
stressed to us that the decision to allow the pilots to leave 
Brazil rests with the judicial and not executive branch of the 
Brazilian government.  He has warned us of applying too much 
pressure on the courts, saying that they are proud of their 
independence and usually do not yield to such pressure, 
sometimes even producing the opposite decision to prove their 
independence.  He did not offer a prediction on whether the 
appellate court would rule in the pilots favor, but said that 
the pilots' Brazilian lawyer (a son of a former Minister of 
Justice) believes that if he fails at the appellate court he 
will prevail at the next level, the Superior Tribunal of 
Justice.  Our lawyer suggested that if the pilots appeal is 
rejected at the appellate level, we consider a discrete approach 
to the Ministry of Justice, asking them to in turn contact the 
Superior Tribunal. 
 
¶7. (C) Comment: As reported reftel, the MFA has already 
contacted two of the justices on the appellate court on our 
behalf.  We do not believe that further pressure from us will 
produce positive results and could possibly produce the 
opposite.  However, the Embassy does not object to Washington 
approaches the Brazilian Embassy as this could be portrayed as a 
companion visit to our already completed demarche and not 
additional pressure. 
 
¶8. (C) Comment continued: The Embassy shares the frustration 
over the way this investigation has been handled, but believes 
that complaints about how it was handled and the utility of 
beginning a criminal investigating so early best wait until the 
pilots have left Brazil. 
 
Sobel