Two US pilots on an executive jet could have prevented a midair collision that killed 154 people aboard another plane if they had noticed their jet's transponder was turned off, a preliminary police report said.
The report released on Wednesday said the pilots -- who were formally accused by police of exposing aircraft to danger but were allowed to return to the US -- played a role in the Sept. 29 crash over Brazil's Amazon jungle.
Federal police superintendent Daniel Lorenz Azevedo added that "other people may be charged after the investigation is finalized." He did not give any names, but authorities have said flight controllers have been under investigation as well.
The report said the pilots -- Joseph Lepore, 42, of Bay Shore, New York, and Jan Paladino, 34, of Westhampton Beach, New York -- should have noticed that the jet's transponder, which transmits the plane's altitude and operates its automatic anti-collision system, was turned off for at least 50 minutes before the collision with an airliner.
The pilots have denied any wrongdoing. Their lawyers in Brazil could not be immediately reached for comment.
Evidence from flight data recorders and radar information showed the device was turned on about two minutes after the collision, police said.
The report said that it was not possible to know whether the transponder was turned off by the pilots or malfunctioned, but added that if the pilots had immediately turned it back on the crash likely would have been avoided.
"There's evidence and indications that the pilots' actions contributed to the crash," Lorenz told local media.
The pair were detained in Brazil after the small executive jet they were flying collided with a Gol Airlines Boeing 737-800 over the Amazon jungle.
All 154 people on board the Gol flight died, while the smaller Legacy jet, owned by ExcelAire of Ronkonkoma, New York, landed safely with all seven passengers unharmed.
Before leaving Sao Paulo on Friday, the US pilots were formally accused of playing a role in the air disaster. Police said their "lack of caution" and "negligence" contributed to the accident. If convicted, the men could each face up to 12 years in prison.
The pilots' lawyers have called the accusations absurd.
One of them, former Justice Minister Jose Carlos Dias, called the formal accusation biased and said police were simply "looking for someone to blame."
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