Not many business jets that collide with airliners at 37,000 feet are repaired and returned to service but that appears to be the outcome for the Embraer Legacy 600 that contacted a GOL Boeing 737 over Brazil on Sept. 29, 2006. The collision resulted in the loss of the 737 and the deaths of all 154 on board but the Legacy pilots, who were on a delivery flight from the Embraer factory to New York, managed to land the damaged bizjet safely at a military airfield in the jungle. The tragedy resulted in a protracted legal and diplomatic squabble that might not be over yet. The Legacy, however, lives on. It was flown to Cleveland, Ohio, on Nov. 19, minus the winglet it lost in the collision, where it will undergo extensive repairs.
The aircraft has been re-registered N965LL from N600XL and is owned by a Delaware company called Cloudscape, Inc. The aircraft was flown to the U.S. in the livery of its former owner Excelaire, of Long Island, N.Y. Unconfirmed reports say the otherwise brand-new Legacy will get a new wing and a thorough check before returning to service. In the collision, the Legacy’s left winglet hit the leading edge of the left wing of the 737, resulting in the failure of the wing and loss of control, followed by in-flight breakup.
