Summary:
A Brazilian judge has commuted the prison sentences of two American pilots involved in a plane crash in 2006 that killed 154 people to community service and a ban on flying for four years.

Full article:
(CNN) -- Two American pilots involved in a plane collision over the Brazilian Amazon that resulted in the deaths of 154 people were sentenced to community service, a Brazilian judge ruled. Judge Murilo Mendes originally sentenced Joseph Lepore and Jan Paul Paladino to four years and four days in prison, but then Monday commuted the sentence to community service to be carried out in the United States. They will also not be allowed to fly for four years and four days. The sentence stems from a September 2006 incident where, according to court records, the Legacy 600 jet the two were piloting made contact with a Gol Airlines Boeing 737. The smaller jet made an emergency landing and all were safe, but all 154 passengers and crew aboard the large commercial jet were killed. The 86-page document accuses both American pilots of being "imprudent" and inexperienced in piloting the two-engine plane. Brazilian officials say that the pilots turned off the Legacy's transponder, something that the pilots flatly denied during a videoconference. The case caused controversy between the United States and Brazil when local officials confiscated the pilots' passports. It was unknown whether lawyers for the two pilots would file an appeal. CNN's Helene de Moura and Marilia Brocchetto contributed to this report.