Report: Planes nearly collided in Brazil

Plagued by air traffic woes, another blow for country's air travel system

Top slideshows

Getty Images	The Big Apple Long referred to as the center of American business, New York is a melting pot of cultures and landscapes. Take a visual tour of some of the Big Apple’s most famous attractions.
Lonely Planet Images	Hawaiian paradise The Hawaiian Islands are the perfect vacation destination for travelers of all types.
Lonely Planet Images	National spectacles Nearly 400 national parks can be found all across America, and feature breathtaking vistas, rock formations millions of years old, and more.

updated 3:17 p.m. ET Sept. 15, 2008

BRASILIA, Brazil - A Brazilian air force plane and a commercial jet nearly collided as the airliner was landing in an Amazonian city in June, a local television station reported, the latest blow for a beleaguered air system.

The airliner belonged to Gol Linhas Aereas Intelligentes SA, the same company that saw a jet crash in the Amazon in 2006 after it collided with an Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet, killing all 154 people on board.

The "Fantastico" show on the Globo television network reported Sunday that the Boeing 737 belonging to Gol nearly collided with the propeller-driven air force plane as the airliner tried landing in Rio Branco, a city in the Amazonian state of Acre.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

The Brazilian air force confirmed the incident in a statement and said an investigation faulted the air traffic controller who was guiding the air force plane and the airliner. It wasn't clear why the incident was not made public earlier.

"The Gol passed above us here, it almost hit us," an unidentified voice in the air force plane said on audio played on Fantastico.

The air force statement said there was no connection between the most recent incident and the 2006 Gol airliner crash in Mato Grosso, another Amazonian state. An investigation continues into that crash.

In a statement, Gol said its pilots followed all safety regulations and did nothing wrong in the most recent incident.

Brazil has been plagued by air traffic woes in the past few years.

In July 2007, a TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A320 skid off a runway while landing in a rainstorm in Sao Paulo, killing all 187 people on board and 12 on ground.

Don't miss these Travel stories from msnbc.com
10-day China package, from $888
Paris and Nice, air/6 nights, from $749
Hotel rates down nearly 9 percent this year
Great-value Caribbean islands | Which Hawaii for you?
Keep your vacation moments memorable