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Case Center
Gol Airlines Flight 1907
- Issue: Aviation accident
- Result: Confidential settlement
Barbosa Garcia, et al. v. ExcelAire Service, Inc., and Honeywell International, Inc.
Lieff Cabraser served as Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel and represents over twenty families whose loved ones died in the Gol Airlines Flight 1907 crash. On September 29, 2006, a brand-new Boeing 737-800 operated by Brazilian air carrier Gol plunged into the Amazon jungle after colliding with a smaller plane owned by the American company ExcelAire Service, Inc. None of the 149 passengers and six crew members on board the Gol flight survived the accident.
The complaint charged that the pilots of the ExcelAire jet were flying at an incorrect altitude at the time of the collision, failed to operate the jet’s transponder and radio equipment properly, and failed to maintain communication with Brazilian air traffic control in violation of international civil aviation standards. If the pilots of the ExcelAire aircraft had followed these standards, plaintiffs charge that the collision would not have occurred.
At the time of the collision, the ExcelAire aircraft’s transponder manufactured by Honeywell was not functioning. A transponder transmits a plane’s altitude and operates its automatic anti-collision system. The complaint charged that Honeywell shares responsibility for the tragedy because it defectively designed the transponder on the ExcelAire jet, and failed to warn of dangers resulting from foreseeable uses of the transponder.
The cases settled after they were sent to Brazil for prosecution.