Celia Castedo fled Bolivia, alleging she’s being persecuted:
Bolivian authorities accused Ms. Castedo of “failing to carry out her duties as a public official” in not preventing LaMia flight 2933 from leaving the city of Santa Cruz on Nov. 28. The flight subsequently ran out of fuel and crashed near its destination of Medellín, Colombia, killing 71 people including most members of the Brazilian professional soccer team Chapecoense.
The airline’s final flight plan was in violation of international aviation safety standards, as it didn’t include a refueling stop despite the 4 ½ hour trip stretching the Avro RJ85 aircraft’s flight range.
However (emphasis added),
Ms. Castedo had requested the plan be changed, according to a transcript of a conversation with the plane’s onboard dispatcher that she wrote up after the crash. She said the dispatcher, Alex Quispe, who was among those killed in the crash, dismissed her concerns.
Her employer, Aasana, claims that investigators need to look at DGAC, another of Bolivia’s regulatory agencies, to understand why the flight plan was approved.
Castedo was granted temporary asylum allowing her to live and work in Brazil while the Justice Ministry analyzes her case.
Cross-posted at WoW! Magazine.
