On December 8, Brazil's Federal Police charged U.S. pilots Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino of unintentionally risking the safety of the commercial airplane that crashed in the Brazilian rainforest, killing 154 passengers on September 29.

The two pilots kept silent during a six-hour cross-examination held at the Federal Police headquarters in Sao Paulo on December 8. They were assisted by their attorneys and two employees of the U.S. Consulate, and refused to answer any of the questions asked.

The two men piloted the Legacy 600 executive jet that collided with a Boeing 737-800 travelling in the opposite direction over Mato Grosso state in Brazil's mid-west.

The Boeing, operated by Brazilian airline Gol, crashed into the Amazonian jungle killing all aboard in Brazil's biggest air disaster. The smaller executive jet made an emergency landing with no casualties.

Brazil's Court decided to give their passports back this week, as they had been kept in Brazil since the accident.

U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton had asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to interfere in the case and make the Brazilian Government allow the pilots to leave the country.

On December 4, Clinton wrote a public letter praising Brazil's decision to deliver the passports.

Following the cross-examination, Paladino and Lepore went straight to Cumbica Airport, in Sao Paulos metropolitan region, and returned to the United States. They committed to returning to the country to help investigations whenever requested.