Brazil: Authorities investigate the cause of the fiery plane crash that killed 61

VINHEDO, Brazil (AP) — Brazilian rescue groups Saturday retrieved the stays of all 62 passengers from the wreckage of a aircraft crash in Sao Paulo state as households began gathering within the metropolis to determine and bury their family members.

Native airline Voepass’ aircraft, an ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop, was headed for Sao Paulo’s worldwide airport in Guarulhos with 58 passengers and 4 crew members, when it went down within the metropolis of Vinhedo.

Initially, the corporate mentioned its aircraft had 62 passengers, then it revised the quantity to 61 and early on Saturday it raised the determine as soon as once more after it discovered a passenger named Constantino Thé Maia was not on its authentic listing.

Voepass additionally mentioned three passengers who held Brazilian identification additionally carried Venezuelan paperwork and one had Portuguese.

Sao Paulo state authorities mentioned in an announcement that rescue operations completed at 6:30 p.m. native time, with the identification of the our bodies of the pilot and co-pilot by forensics specialists. There have been 34 male and 28 feminine our bodies within the wreckage, the federal government mentioned.

Earlier, Maycon Cristo, a spokesman for the native hearth division, informed journalists in Vinhedo {that a} winch was used to take away elements of the aircraft from the bottom.

Brazilian authorities started transferring the corpses to the morgue Friday, and referred to as on victims’ relations to carry any medical, X-ray and dental exams to assist determine the our bodies. Blood assessments have been additionally carried out to assist identification efforts.

Photos recorded by witnesses confirmed the plane in a flat spin and plunging vertically earlier than smashing to the bottom inside a gated neighborhood, and leaving an obliterated fuselage consumed by hearth. Residents mentioned there have been no accidents on the bottom.

Rain drizzled down on rescue employees as they recovered the primary our bodies from the scene within the chill of the Southern Hemisphere’s winter. Some residents of the gated neighborhood silently left to spend the evening elsewhere. None have been noticed returning on Saturday.

It was the world’s deadliest airline crash since January 2023, when 72 folks died on board a Yeti Airways aircraft in Nepal that stalled and crashed whereas making its touchdown strategy. That aircraft additionally was an ATR 72, and the ultimate report blamed pilot error.

Metsul, certainly one of Brazil’s most famed meteorological corporations, mentioned Friday there have been stories of extreme icing in Sao Paulo state across the time of the crash. Native media cited specialists pointing to icing as a possible trigger for the accident.

A video shared on social media channels Saturday exhibits a Voepass pilot telling passengers of a flight from Guarulhos to town of Cascavel, the identical origin of the crashed aircraft, that the ATR 72 has flown safely world wide for many years. He additionally requested passengers to be respectful to the reminiscence of his colleagues and the corporate and requested for prayers.

“It was a fatality. The pilot was my private good friend. I’ve recognized all of the crew from way back,” the unidentified pilot mentioned. “We’re professionals, we’ve our households. This tragedy doesn’t hit solely those that perished on this accident. It hits all of us. We’re giving all our hearts, all our greatest to be right here and fulfill our mission to take you safely and comfortably to your vacation spot.”

Native police restricted entry to the primary entrance of certainly one of Sao Paulo’s morgues, the place our bodies from the crash have been being recognized. Some relations of the victims arrived on foot, others got here in minivans. They didn’t converse to journalists, and native authorities requested they not be filmed as they got here.

A flight bringing extra relations from Paraná state landed within the afternoon at Guarulhos worldwide airport São Paulo, and so they additionally selected to not converse to journalists. A minivan sponsored by the airline was set to move them to the morgue.

Many relations have been gathering at a resort in downtown Sao Paulo, up to now refusing to talk to media there too.

An American Eagle ATR 72-200 crashed on Oct. 31, 1994, and america Nationwide Transportation Security Board decided that the possible trigger was ice buildup whereas the aircraft was circling in a holding sample. The aircraft rolled at about 8,000 ft and dove into the bottom, killing all 68 folks on board. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued working procedures for ATRs and comparable planes, telling pilots to not use the autopilot in icing situations.

However Brazilian aviation professional Lito Sousa cautioned that meteorological situations alone won’t be sufficient to elucidate why the aircraft fell within the method that it did on Friday.

“Analyzing an air crash simply with photographs can result in mistaken conclusions in regards to the causes,” Sousa informed the AP by telephone. “However we will see a aircraft with lack of help, no horizontal velocity. On this flat spin situation, there’s no approach to reclaim management of the aircraft.”

Brazil’s air drive mentioned Saturday each black containers of the aircraft had been despatched to its evaluation laboratory within the capital Brasilia. The outcomes of its investigations are anticipated to be revealed inside 30 days, it mentioned.

Marcelo Moura, director of operations for Voepass, informed reporters Friday evening that, whereas there have been forecasts for ice, they have been inside acceptable ranges for the plane.

Likewise, Lt. Col. Carlos Henrique Baldi of the Brazilian air drive’s middle for the investigation and prevention of air accidents, informed reporters in a late afternoon press convention that it was nonetheless too early to substantiate whether or not ice triggered the crash.

The aircraft is “licensed in a number of nations to fly in extreme icing situations, together with in nations in contrast to ours, the place the influence of ice is extra vital,” mentioned Baldi, who heads the middle’s investigation division.

In an earlier assertion, the middle mentioned the aircraft’s pilots didn’t name for assist or say they have been working below antagonistic climate situations. There was no proof that the pilots tried to contact controllers of regional airports, both, Ports and Airports Minister Silvio Costa Filho informed reporters Friday evening in Vinhedo.

Brazil’s Federal Police mentioned it started its personal investigation, and dispatched specialists in aircraft crashes and the identification of catastrophe victims.

French-Italian aircraft producer ATR mentioned in an announcement that it had been knowledgeable that the accident concerned its ATR 72-500 mannequin, and that firm specialists are “totally engaged to help each the investigation and the client.”

The ATR 72 is usually used on shorter flights. The planes are constructed by a three way partnership of Airbus in France and Italy’s Leonardo S.p.A.

Crashes involving varied fashions of the ATR 72 have resulted in 470 deaths going again to the Nineteen Nineties, in response to a database of the Aviation Security Community.

Costa Filho, the airports minister, mentioned the air drive’s middle can even conduct a felony probe of the accident.

“We’ll examine so this case is totally defined to the Brazilian folks,” he mentioned.

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Sá Pessoa reported from Sao Paulo and Koenig from Dallas. AP videojournalist Tatiana Pollastri contributed to this report.