The head of Brazil's airport authority is being replaced in response to the nation's worst aviation disaster, a Defense Ministry spokeswoman said on Saturday, according to AP. Sergio Mauricio Brito Gaudenzi, the president of Brazil's Space Agency, will replace Jose Carlos Pereira as head of the airport authority, Infraero, said the spokeswoman for the Defense Ministry, which oversees Brazil's civil aviation system. The spokesman declined to be identified in accordance with department policy. She said the changeover would be officially announced Monday. On July 17, TAM Linhas Aereas SA airlines Flight 3054 sped down the runway at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport, jumped a major highway and slammed into an air cargo building, killing all 187 people aboard and 12 people on the ground. The airport authority was criticized for reopening the Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport's relatively short runway before it was grooved _ a process that helps water run off and provides better traction in rain.
