Silva Promises Brazil Plane Crash Probe

A TAM jet prepares to land at Congonhas airport, as smoke rises from the site where a TAM airlines jet crashed Tuesday killing at least 189 people, in Sao Paulo, Thursday, July 19, 2007. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) (Andre Penner - AP)

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Brazil's president promised a thorough investigation Friday into a plane crash that killed 191 people and announced measures to improve air safety, including building a new airport in Sao Paulo.

A disconnected thrust reverser emerged as a possible factor in the Brazilian jetliner overshooting the runway Tuesday, but the political heat intensified after an official expressed relief that blame for the deadly crash might shift away from the government.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in a nationally televised speech that his government would take "all measures within our reach to diminish the risk of new tragedies."

It was the first time Silva has spoken publicly on Brazil's worst-ever air disaster, with the exception of a short statement read by a spokesman hours after the crash.

"I want everyone to know that the government is doing the possible and the impossible to investigate the causes of the accident," Silva said. "One cannot condemn or absolve anyone on the basis of rushed opinions."

Critics accuse officials of failing to address long-standing air travel safety problems including deficient radars, underfunded air traffic control systems and the short, slick runway at Congonhas, Brazil's busiest airport.

All 187 people aboard the A320 and at least four on the ground died when the plane raced down the runway, skipped over a crowded highway and exploded in a fireball that was still smoldering three days later.

Silva defended the nation's aviation system as secure while admitting some problems. He announced a series of measures to remedy the situation, including limiting the number of flights and restricting the weight of planes traveling into Congonhas. He also announced plans to construct a new airport in Sao Paulo, whose location would be chosen within 90 days.

"Our aviation system, in spite of the investments we have made in expansion and modernization of almost all Brazilian airports, is passing through difficulties," Silva said. "Its biggest problem today is the excessive concentration of flights to Congonhas."

"The security of our aviation system is compatible with all the international standards. We cannot lose sight of this," he said.

Earlier in the day, the Cabinet-level Civil Aviation Council announced 10 measures to reduce traffic at Congonhas. The measures include banning charter flights and executive jets from the airport, and airlines were given 60 days to stop using it as a hub for connecting flights.

On Friday night, the airline added one more name to the list of people aboard its doomed plane, saying it had learned co-pilot Maros Stepansky was on the flight as a "non-working" member of the crew.