Misfortune in the residential area - Investigation into plane crash in Brazil with 61 dead
After the crash of a passenger plane with 61 fatalities in a residential area in Brazil, investigations into the cause of the accident have begun. "Everything is still very premature," cautioned Marcelo Moreno, head of the Center for the Investigation and Prevention of Air Accidents (Cenipa), at a press conference. Environmental and technical factors, as well as possible human error, are being examined to determine how the plane crashed in the city of Vinhedo in the state of São Paulo.
The flight data recorder, or "black box," has been found by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), he said. This is crucial for the investigation of the crash.
Plane crashes onto a plot of land in a residential complex
The VoePass Airlines plane, carrying 57 passengers and 4 crew members, was traveling from the city of Cascavel in the state of Paraná to Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo when it crashed.
Images and videos on social media showed the plane spinning out of control and plummeting from the sky, with thick smoke rising afterward. Data from the Flightradar 24 platform suggests that the plane dropped nearly 4,000 meters in less than a minute.
It crashed in a residential neighborhood near a house where residents were present, according to the G1 news portal, citing local authorities. However, no one on the ground was injured.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared a three-day national mourning period. The governor of São Paulo, Tarcisio de Freitas, promised all necessary support.
According to Flightradar 24, meteorological reports around the time of the accident indicate turbulence, thunderstorms, and icing in the area. VoePass CEO Eduardo Busch did not rule out the possibility of ice accumulating on the wings. However, he noted that the pilots were experienced and the plane was operational at the time of takeoff. "The aircraft was 100 percent operational at the time of takeoff," Busch said.
One of the deadliest accidents in Brazilian aviation history
The accident is reportedly one of the deadliest in Brazilian aviation history. Many remember the crash on November 28, 2016, when a plane carrying the Brazilian football club Chapecoense crashed on its way to Medellín, Colombia, for the Copa Sudamericana final. Seventy-one people died, including almost all the players, coaches, and accompanying journalists. Six passengers survived.
The plane that crashed on Friday was a turboprop passenger plane of the ATR 72 type, a shoulder-wing aircraft produced by the Franco-Italian consortium Avions de Transport Régional. In January 2023, 72 people, including four crew members, died when an ATR 72-500 crashed while attempting to land at Pokhara Airport in Nepal.
The crash site of the VoePass Airlines plane is located in the city of Vinhedo, a part of the state of São Paulo in Brazil.
Despite this tragic incident being one of the deadliest in Brazilian aviation history, no fatalities were reported among the residents of the residential complex where the plane crashed.
