LA PAZ, Bolivia — A Bolivian aviation official who signed off on the flight plan for a chartered aircraft that crashed in the Andes is breaking her silence and accusing her bosses of trying to stage a cover-up.
In a letter made public Thursday, Celia Castedo said she didn’t have the authority to stop the doomed flight from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to Medellin, Colombia.
The crash killed 71 people, including members of a Brazilian soccer team heading to the finals of the Copa Sudamericana tournament.
Castedo said that a day after the Nov. 28 crash her superiors pressured her to modify an internal report that she claims details how she warned the airline that the short-range jetliner didn’t have enough fuel to safely make that long a flight.
Bolivian officials have said Castedo has been suspended from her post while she is being investigated for her role in the crash. She has sought asylum in Brazil./rga