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BRAZIL - A director of Brazilian aviation authority ANAC has resigned, becoming the third senior official to leave after an airplane crash killed 199 people last month and raised international concerns about the country's air safety.
Denise Abreu, ANAC's director of customer relations and aviation services, handed in her letter of resignation to Defence Minister Nelson Jobim, a spokeswoman for her said.
The departure of Abreu, who became the symbol in Brazil's media for mismanagement at ANAC, could pave the way for other directors to follow suit, analysts said.
Critics also say President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva appointed friends and allies rather than aviation experts to the agency.
Legislators investigating the country's aviation crisis have accused ANAC of insufficient controls on aircraft and allowing too many flights to depart and land at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport, where the Airbus A320 crashed last month. It was operated by TAM Linhas Aereas, Brazil's largest carrier.
Abreu, who said she resigned for personal reasons, provoked public outrage when she was photographed smoking a cigar at a party days after another major airplane accident killed 154 people last September.
Defence Minister Waldir Pires and head of the airport authority Infraero, Jose Carlos Pereira, had previously resigned over the ongoing aviation crisis.
Air Force authorities suspect that a pilot or mechanical error with the throttle lever of one of the engines was a major cause of the TAM accident. They are also investigating whether a rain-soaked runway, known by pilots to be slippery, contributed to the disaster.
The plane overshot the runway, crashed into a cargo terminal and gas station and exploded into a ball of fire.
- REUTERS
