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last year, wanting to see a movie but not seeing anything playing that i liked, i stumbled into a documentary about civil aviation in argentina, called fuerza area s.a. (air force, incorporated)... as a regular flier in and out of buenos aires, i was horrified... this little snippet from the movie web site gives you some of the background but, naturally, nothing like the impact of the movie...

In this documentary the director shows the behind-the-scenes of the disastrous state of civil aviation in Argentina. Much of this is due to the inexplicable situation in which civil aviation is entirely militarized and under total control of the Air Force since the last military coup thirty years ago. Argentina is the only country with this rare privilege.

With hidden cameras in the control tower and 3D animations to convey the true version of two fatal air crashes in Argentina, the director (an aircraft accident investigator himself) makes his point on how corruption within the Air Force is directly affecting air safety. We see and understand many incredible close calls of aircraft on the verge of a fuel emergency and almost hit by rockets, and the recordings of their real conversations. Television footage depicting corruption of Air Force officials poses a strong warning on would be accidents.

so, today, i read this...

Pilots at Argentina's largest domestic airline, Austral, ended a short strike late on Thursday over a faulty radar system after the government guaranteed the safety of air traffic control.

The unionized pilots had said the radar system was not showing the exact coordinates of planes landing at or leaving the country's two biggest airports, both in the Buenos Aires area -- a claim disputed by [Defense Minister Nilda Garre].

i live close to one of the two arrival and departure flight paths for aeroparque jorge newberry, the airport that serves most of the domestic flights in and out of buenos aires... when i am bicycling over at parque de los niños, i often watch the austral flights on approach and the movie almost always comes to mind... so, reading the above was especially interesting, but this part even more...

At the news conference, Garre unveiled a decree creating a new national civil aviation administration, in the first step toward putting air traffic control in the hands of civilians.

She said the announcement was unrelated to the strike and that the transition from military to civilian control would be gradual, without specifying any time frame.

how interesting... i remember her making that very same announcement last year, very shortly after the movie was released, but, hey... as they say here with a shoulder shrug, "it's argentina..."

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