Up to 200 feared dead in Brazil plane crash

SAO PAULO, July 18 (Reuters) A Brazilian airliner crashed and burst into flames at Brazil's busiest airport, and as many as 200 people were feared dead in the country's second major air disaster in less than a year.

Rescue crews said none of the 176 people on board the Airbus A320 were likely to have survived, according to Sao Paulo state Gov.

Jose Serra. Brazilian news agency Folha quoted the leader of a rescue crew as saying there could be 200 people dead, including casualties on the ground.

The plane, flying from Porto Alegre in southern Brazil, lost control on landing at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport yesterday, which is known for slippery runways and has become a symbol of the country's chaotic air transport system.

The airliner skidded off the rain-soaked landing strip and flew over a bustling avenue just below, slamming into a gas station and cargo terminal where people were working.

''The plane came spinning and passed over our heads at the level of the street lights. We could hear the engine noise getting louder and the plane growing in front of us. When it hit the ground it exploded sending pieces all around,'' said Luis Santos, who was in his car at the station at the time.

Dozens of ambulances raced to the crash site, where the plane's tail hung out from the cargo terminal in flames as firefighters tried to put out the blaze, which spread to a neighboring building.

Government officials said rescue crews had recovered 20 bodies from the site and that at least 12 people were being treated for injuries at nearby hospitals.

The plane, operated by Brazil's No 1 airline TAM Linhas Aereas, was carrying 170 passengers and six crew members.

In September, 154 people were killed when a Brazilian Boeing 737 clipped wings with a private jet and crashed in the Amazon jungle in what was the worst air accident in the country's history.

That crash thrust Brazil's aviation system into disarray as air traffic controllers, who felt they were being blamed for the accident, went on strike to protest poor pay and outdated equipment.

SAFETY CONCERNS The TAM accident is likely to add pressure on President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to take swift action to improve air safety.

Critics say the President has not done enough to solve the country's nagging aviation woes.

''How long will this go on? Are we going to have to wait for a third accident for the government to do something?'' said Arthur Virgilio, a senator from a leading opposition party.

A ranking member of Virgilio's party was on the TAM flight that crashed, an aide told Reuters.

Congonhas airport, located in the heart of South America's largest city, recently repaved one of its runways after officials tried to ban wide-bodied jets from the airport on fears they could skid off its short landing strips.

Some aviation experts questioned if the runway had been sufficiently grooved to drain water in heavy rains.

''The runway was reopened because of popular pressure,'' Gianfranco Beting, an aviation consultant, said in a TV interview.

''This was a tragedy waiting to happen.'' On Monday, a small plane also spun off the runway in a heavy downpour but no one was hurt.

REUTERS PY RK1001