President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s (PT) plane, shortly after taking off from Mexico City, at 5:30 pm (Brasília time), presented technical problems with the engine and had to return.
However, once the fuel tank is full.
The guideline is for the pilot to fly over the region for approximately four hours to burn off fuel and thus land more safely.
According to sources, an alternative evaluated is to dump fuel before landing. A reserve plane is already waiting for the president’s delegation at the airport to take off back to Brazil.
They are on the plane with Lula: the first lady Janja da Silva, the director general of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues, and the economist Gabriel Galípolo, nominated for the presidency of the Central Bank (BC).
FAB
The Brazilian Air Force (FAB), in a statement, informed that the “VC-1 presidential aircraft presented a technical problem after takeoff from Mexico City airport”.
It also says that “after successfully carrying out the safety procedures to solve the problem presented, the pilots wait for the necessary fuel consumption to return to the same aerodrome as the take-off, changing aircraft and returning to Brasília”.
See below the full note released by the commander of the Brazilian Area Force (FAB), Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno:
I inform you that the presidential aircraft VC-1, which transports the President of the Republic on the stretch between Mexico and Brazil, presented a technical problem after taking off from Mexico City Airport, this Tuesday (1st).
Having successfully carried out the safety procedures to solve the problem presented, the pilots wait for the necessary fuel consumption to return to the same aerodrome as the take-off, changing aircraft and returning to Brasília.
