Brazilian authorities say prosecutors are considering manslaughter charges for two U.S. pilots whose executive jet collided with a commercial plane above the Amazon last week, killing 155 people.
A judge in Brazil's Mato Grosso state this week ordered police to seize the men's passports. The judge ordered the move while the investigation continues into the collision of the pilots' jet with a Gol Airlines 737.
The blow damaged a wing of the smaller plane, but it landed safely at an air force base. The pilots of the executive jet were not injured, but were taken to Rio de Janeiro for medical tests.
Investigators later learned that the Gol airliner crashed in the Amazon jungle, killing everyone aboard. Some media reports say the other plane may have been flying at the wrong altitude, in the Gol's flight path.
Emergency workers found several bodies at the crash site and were sending the remains to Brasilia for identification.
Workers also recovered the flight data and voice recorders and hope the devices will explain how the two planes, both equipped with the latest anti-collision technology, collided in mid-air.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration sent a team to Brazil to assist in the investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board also was sending investigators to the South American country.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.