Brazilian plane crash victims families call for justice

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Five years after Brazil's deadliest plane crash that killed 199 people, families and friends of the victims come out and demand justice.

They complained that although three people have been indicted, the court has not decided whether to pursue the case against them.

Families and friends of the victims gathered Tuesday at the site of the accident near Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport to unveil a memorial to mourn the dead.

The accident occurred on July 17, 2007, when an Airbus A320 overshot the runway upon landing at Congonhas airport. The plane then flew over a major highway and hit a roadside warehouse next to a fueling station that exploded on impact.

All 187 people on board died instantly, along with 12 people in the warehouse, making the accident the deadliest ever in Brazil.

The prosecutor's office last year formally indicted three people, including Denise Maria Ayres Abreu, who was director of Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency.

He was accused of allowing the airport runway to operate without proper grooves for more traction, which is a must for planes to land in wet weather.

Also arrested were two of the air carrier's top executives, who were accused of not rerouting flights to other airports when Congonhas was found unfit for landing, and of not installing an alarm device for pilots to position thrusters, which apparently failed on the crashed plane.

The court had three years to decide whether to pursue the case. If found guilty, the accused face up to 12 years in prison.

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