SAO PAULO, July 19: Calls mounted on Thursday for Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport to be shut down amid anger over safety conditions following Brazil's deadliest air disaster that killed about 200 people.

Two days after the shocking crash, the airport, notorious for a comparatively short runway pilots say becomes slick when wet, came under fire from relatives of the dead, legal groups and government officials.

Congonhas airport should halt operations “until its security conditions are examined and questions about the accident are answered,” said Brazil’s Public Ministry.

The Tam Airlines jetliner had careened off the runway upon landing in heavy rain, then shot across a crowded avenue and slammed into a warehouse before bursting into flames.—AFP