By Raymond Colitt

BRASILIA, July 20 (Reuters) - President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has come in for scathing criticism over his handling of Brazil's worst air crash after a close advisor was filmed apparently celebrating reports suggesting it was caused by a mechanical error and not government negligence.

The incident capped a flurry of criticism that Lula has been absent during the crisis so as not to jeopardize his lofty approval ratings.

"Eloquent in favorable situations, the president disappears in adverse situations," political columnist Dora Kramer said on Friday in O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper.

Following the crash on Tuesday of an Airbus A320 <EAD.PA> that killed nearly 200 people at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport, Brazilians have been clamoring for explanations and someone to take responsibility for the country's second major aviation accident in 10 months.

But Lula, who was elected to a second term last year, has not made a public appearance or visited the crash site, unlike his long-time political rival Sao Paulo state Gov. Jose Serra, who comforted mourning family members.

Marco Aurelio Garcia, a foreign policy advisor to the president, was shown on national television on Thursday making obscene gestures after news that pointed to problems with the braking system of the doomed A320.

Garcia later said it was a private expression of indignation in response to attempts to blame the government for the accident.

The opposition Brazilian Social Democracy Party said Garcia's gesture was "an offense to the Brazilian people" and demanded an an apology from Lula.

BLUNDERS

The incident is the latest in a series of blunders by Lula's cabinet members in the country's aviation crisis, which has seen chronic delays and flight cancellations.

Finance Minister Guido Mantega has tried to put a positive spin on the crisis, calling it a byproduct of Brazil's improving economy, and Tourism Minister Marta Suplicy said irritated travelers should "relax and enjoy."

Lula has a history of retreating at difficult times. During a previous aviation crisis that disrupted air travel at the end of last year, he took a beach holiday.

When he was booed during the opening ceremony of the Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro last Friday, he scrapped plans for a widely expected inaugural speech.

Lula will address the nation late on Friday in a nationally televised broadcast. The decision followed a shift in the focus of the investigations from a faulty runway that could imply government responsibility to potential pilot error or mechanical failures.

TAM Linhas Aereas <TAMM4.SA><TAM.N> said late on Thursday that the aircraft had been flying without one of its thrust reversers, which help slow the plane at landing. But the company said the device, which was turned off after a malfunction last week, was not essential to safe landing, according to an Airbus manual.

Another pilot said he had difficulty landing the same plane on the same slippery runway, TV Globo reported, citing an aviation official.

An executive for the airline said technical norms allowed flying the jet even with both reversers shut down. A reverser is temporarily deployed at the rear of a jet engine to divert its thrust forward and aid braking.

TAM's chief executive, Marco Antonio Bologna, had said on Wednesday that the aircraft was in "perfect" condition.

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