Law firms representing families of victims in Sept. 29's plane collision in Brazil said on Tuesday that they hoped to reach a settlement worthy of several million U.S. dollars with ExcelAire Service and Honeywell International.

All the 148 passengers and six crew members aboard the Brazilian company Gol's Boeing 737-800 were killed in Brazil's worst-ever air disaster after it collided with ExcelAire's small executive jet and then crashed in the remote Amazon jungle.

The executive jet, a Legacy 600 made by Embraer, made an emergency landing at a nearby air force base after the collision, with no casualties.

"Although official investigations of the Gol Airlines tragedy are ongoing, sufficient evidence presently exists to allege that negligence by ExcelAire and Honeywell were substantial factors contributing to the fatal collision," Robert L. Lieff, a lawyer representing the victims' family, told a press conference.

He expressed his hope that the two companies would reach a settlement with the victims' families, saying he expected the settlement could hit "several million dollars."

On Monday lawyers filed a suit in New York against ExcelAire and Honeywell, the latter of which made the crashed plane's transponder. They did not sue Gol, Embraer and Boeing as no evidence has been obtained to implicate those companies.

Investigations have been focused on why the executive jet was flying at an altitude usually reserved for planes flying in the opposite direction. Its two pilots have denied any wrongdoing. Their passports have been seized by the Brazilian authorities, and thus they can not leave Brazil.

Source: Xinhua