Originally Posted by Janda
The Legacy was not allowed to change its altitude as the 737 was on this level.
The transponder of the Legacy was off.
They did not answer the seven calls from the controllers, since they "desappeared" in the radar. The seven calls are recorded in the Control and in the Legacy tapes.
Seven calls and none response.
Janda: Your first argument makes no sense. The Legacy was originally cleared to FL370 so if it wasn't allowed to change altitude it was where it was supposed to be. The flight plan called for FL 360, but what matters it the altitude clearance the plane received from ATC. ATC had a primary target on the Legacy that should have followed it to the new center, especially with the upgraded radar system. Knowing the transponder was off and ATC could not communicate with the plane, they didn't know what altitude it was at, why didn't they give the 737 a lateral position change to avoid any potential head-on?
We don't know why the transponder was off. It may have been an equipment malfunction. It's no uncommon that new products have defects. Pilots know how stupid it is to turn off a transponder. Brazillian officials have admitted that unless they were running drugs it's unheard of. Brazil has a new ATC system that should have checks in it for when it's not receiving from a transponder. In general, the ATC system is made to compensate for equipment failures such as these.
From what I've read, they didn't answer the calls because they weren't on the correct frequency. But again, there are procedures in place for when the plane is NORDO (no radio). And is the only record of these calls from ATC? I've not heard that the plane received them. And when one center heard nothing back, why didn't they notify the last one that had a position report and find out where the plane was and assume it was still at that altitude? The ATC should alert the plane they are in contact with - the 737 - and have them change course laterally.
The investigation into this crash is far from complete. We don't have the answers yet. They take a lot of time. If someone was negligent, they should pay for this, but the rush to judgment is ridiculous and there's a lot of misinformation coming about that's not helping to do anything but inflame people. My understanding is the Brazilian Accident Investigations Committee is very good. And I'm sure they'll do a thorough investigation that relies on facts as opposed to emotions/politics. We don't know the answers yet. Yes, we can speculate, but some people seem ready to lock away the American pilots based on a few days on speculation. That's unfortunate.