SAO PAULO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The head of Brazil's airports authority will be replaced next week, a government source said on Saturday, the second official to be fired after the worst plane crash in Brazil's history.

Jose Carlos Pereira, chief of the airports authority, or Infraero, will be replaced by Sergio Gaudenzi, the head of the Brazilian Space Agency, according to the source, who asked not to be named because an official announcement is expected on Monday.

Pereira, whose 13-month tenure was marred by a growing aviation crisis, was under pressure to step down since an Airbus A320 <EAD.PA> skidded off a short, rain-slicked runway at Sao Paulo's Congonhas Airport on July 17 and burst into flames.

All 187 people aboard the TAM Linhas Aereas <TAMM4.SA> <TAM.N> flight and at least 12 on the ground were killed in the accident, the second major plane crash in Brazil in 10 months. In September, 154 people were killed when a Boeing 737 <BA.N> clipped wings in mid-air with a private jet and crashed in the Amazon jungle.

Pereira is the second aviation official to be forced out since last month's crash, which caused a national outcry for improvements in air safety and exacerbated one of the worst political crises for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Lula fired Defense Minister Waldir Pires on July 25 and brought in former Supreme Court Chief Justice Nelson Jobim to overhaul the country's ailing aviation sector. The defense ministry supervises civil aviation in Brazil.

Gaudenzi's first task at Infraero will be to find ways to restore a sense of normalcy at Brazilian airports, which have been plagued by delays and cancellations for almost a year.

Air travel has become so unpredictable in Brazil that many passengers are now canceling flights and taking buses instead, despite the inconvenience and risks in a continent-sized country with notoriously poor highways.

Other travelers are simply avoiding Brazil altogether. The rap artist Ice-T canceled scheduled performances in Brazil this month, citing "aviation chaos," according to local media reports.

(Additional reporting by Roberto Samora and Natuza Nery)

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