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Report From Brazil On Fokker Explosion Last week's explosion on board a TAM Fokker 100 occurred during a flight between São José dos Campos and São Paulo, when the plane was on approach to Sao Paulo's Congonhas Airport. The plane was at 2,400 m and the explosion opened a 30 m hole in the right side of the fuselage, just ahead of the engine. One passenger, Fernando Caldeira de Moura Campos, died. He was sitting near the point of the explosion center, and was thrown from the aircraft, falling in a farm where his body opened a 1.5m deep hole in the ground. After the explosion, the plane continued its approach and made a safe landing in Congonhas Airport. Brazilian aviation authorities don't know the nature of the explosion, but investigations are showing that it may be caused by a bomb. A bomb-attack on a commercial plane during a flight has never happened in Brazil before. In a general press interview, TAM's CEO, Rolim Adolfo Amaro, said that he's sure that the explosion was caused by a bomb. The guy that died was the owner of a computer company in São José dos Campos, and he's also owner of a stone quarry, but - as of now - there isn't any evidence linking him to the bomb. Claudio Lucchesi Cavalca, reporting from Brazil French Government Kills Thomson-CSF Privatization In a not-so-surprising announcement last week, France publicly cancelled the privatization of Thomson-CSF. The new government announced that it will use Thomson-CSF as the foundation for a French "professional and defence electronics" conglomerate. The news served as the second rejection notice to Lagardere Group, after its first bid to buy the company was overturned late last year. Second bidder Alcatel Alsthom also loses in the deal. KLM To Buy Rest Of Air UK KLM Royal Dutch Airlines announced last week that it is buying the remaining 55 percent of Air UK. The regional airline operates 37 jets and turboprops, with connecting flights to Amsterdam from 14 cities in Britain. No financial details were released. Boeing/McDonnell Douglas/Europe What a tangled web. Something seems quite suspect, with the EU stating that it will try to block the proposed merger between Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, and simultaneously in discussions with the U.S. on a 1992 agreement limiting commercial aircraft subsidies. Last weekend brought non-stop negotiations between officials from Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and the EU in an attempt to come to agreement. At the same time, high level US trade officials were also meeting in Brussels with the EU over the same issue. The routine subsidy talks, scheduled twice a year, were not timed to coincide with the Boeing issue but certainly raise questions of potential leverage. Iridium Launches 5 Satellites And Junk Bonds Iridium is moving quickly to get its satellite constellation in place with a launch on Wednesday last week inserting five more satellites into orbit. On Friday, a $500 million junk bond deal for Iridium was reported successfully closed. Raytheon TI Deal Closes Raytheon's acquisition of Texas Instruments' defense business closed last week, days after gaining approval by the U.S. Justice Department. The deal, worth $2.95 billion, was originally announced just prior to the agreement by Raytheon to acquire the Hughes Electronics defense operations in a transaction valued at $9.5 billion. The latter deal has yet to be approved by U.S. authorities.