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Brazilian minister fired for plane crash

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Published: July 26, 2007 at 12:31 AM

BRASILIA, Brazil, July 25 (UPI) -- Brazilian Defense Minister Waldir Pires was fired Wednesday in the wake of the country's worst airplane crash.

Brazil's Defense Ministry overseas the country's air traffic control, which has come under extreme scrutiny since last week's crash that killed 199 people.

The former head of Brazil's Supreme Court, Nelson Jobim, will replace Pires, O Globo TV reported.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said his administration would work to ensure safer Brazilian skies in the future.

Brazil's largest airline, TAM, has canceled most of its flights into Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, the country's busiest airport where last week's crash occurred. In that accident, a TAM airliner skidded off the runway during heavy rains and slammed into a gas station, setting the plane on fire.

Topics: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Nelson Jobim
© 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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