The Brazilian criminal court case against the two U.S. pilots and four air traffic controllers involved in a fatal midair between a Legacy 600 and a Gol Airlines Boeing 737-800 above the Amazon jungle in September 2006 has stalled while a judge decides whether the case will be heard in a military court or a federal criminal court, according to Theo Dias, a Brazilian defense attorney for the pilots. Brazil’s Superior Tribunal of Justice, the highest court for non-constitutional issues, was expected to make that decision last month or this month.
The conflict about who should hear the case arises from the fact that the air traffic controllers are civilians who function within a military organization. Once that decision is made, the judge needs to determine whether the trial of the four air traffic controllers will be a single case that includes the two American pilots or separate, Dias said.
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