Brazilian police on Friday charged two U.S. pilots with endangering air safety in the crash of a Brazilian airliner over the Amazon rain forest in which all 154 people on board were killed, according to Reuters. Joseph Lepore, 42, and Jan Paladino, 34, both of New York state, were at the controls of a small executive jet which clipped wings with the Boeing 737 operated by Brazilian airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes as they flew between Brasilia and Manaus on Sep. 29. The Legacy executive jet, owned by ExcelAire, an aircraft charter company based in Ronkonkoma, New York, landed safely but the Boeing plunged to the ground, killing all 154 people aboard. It was Brazil's worst ever air disaster. The two pilots had been prevented from leaving Brazil since the crash. They were charged when they appeared at a federal police headquarters in Sao Paulo on Friday to make a statement, a police spokesman said. The charges carry a maximum sentence of four years imprisonment, he added. The pilots have denied any responsibility for the crash.
