Brazilian authorities are investigating the reason for the fiery airplane crash that killed 62

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VINHEDO, Brazil (AP) — Brazilian authorities labored Saturday to piece collectively what precisely brought about the airplane crash in Sao Paulo state the day past that killed all 62 individuals on board.

Native airline Voepass’ airplane, 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 stated its airplane 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 The Maia was not on its unique listing.

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Photos recorded by witnesses confirmed the plane in a flat spin and plunging vertically earlier than smashing to the bottom inside a gated group, and leaving an obliterated fuselage consumed by fireplace. Residents stated 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 condominium silently left to spend the evening elsewhere.

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

A report Friday from Brazilian tv community Globo’s meteorological heart stated it “confirmed the potential for the formation of ice within the area of Vinhedo,” and native media cited specialists pointing to icing as a possible trigger for the crash.

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 airplane was circling in a holding sample. The airplane rolled at about 8,000 toes and dove into the bottom, killing all 68 individuals 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 circumstances.

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However Brazilian aviation skilled Lito Sousa cautioned that meteorological circumstances alone won’t be sufficient to elucidate why the airplane 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 cellphone. “However we will see a airplane with lack of assist, no horizontal velocity. On this flat spin situation, there’s no technique to reclaim management of the airplane.”

Chatting with reporters Friday in Vinhedo, Sao Paulo Public Safety Secretary Guilherme Derrite stated the airplane’s black field had been recovered, apparently in a preserved state.

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 power’s heart for the investigation and prevention of air accidents, informed reporters in a late afternoon press convention that it was nonetheless too early to verify whether or not ice brought about the crash.

The airplane is “licensed in a number of nations to fly in extreme icing circumstances, together with in nations in contrast to ours, the place the affect of ice is extra important,” stated Baldi, who heads the middle’s investigation division.

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In an earlier assertion, the middle stated that the airplane’s pilots didn’t name for assist nor say they have been working underneath adversarial climate circumstances. 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 started its personal investigation, and dispatched specialists in airplane crashes and the identification of catastrophe victims, it stated in an announcement.

Sao Paulo state authorities stated Saturday morning that 21 our bodies had been retrieved from the scene, and two have been already recognized. Maycon Cristo, a spokesman for the native fireplace division, informed journalists {that a} winch is getting used to take away elements of the airplane carcass from the bottom.

“As we see a doable physique in the course of the destruction of the airplane, rescue groups are available in. Then they take photos, collect as a lot proof from the sufferer as they’ll so the identification may be probably the most correct,” Cristo stated.

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

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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 Nineties, in line with a database of the Aviation Security Community.

Brazilian authorities started transferring the corpses to the morgue Friday, and referred to as on victims’ members of the family to carry any medical, X-ray and dental exams to assist establish the our bodies. Blood checks have been additionally completed to assist identification efforts.

Costa Filho, the airports minister, stated the air power’s heart will even conduct a legal probe of the accident.

“We are going to examine so this case is absolutely defined to the Brazilian individuals,” he stated.

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Sa Pessoa reported from Sao Paulo and Koenig from Dallas.

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