Emergency crews on Saturday began the grim task of removing the victims of a plane crash in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state, a tragedy that claimed the lives of all 62 people on board. The crash site, a residential area in the town of Vinhedo, was a scene of devastation as authorities sifted through the wreckage, seeking answers to what caused the plane’s catastrophic descent.
Videos captured the horrifying moment when the ATR 72-500 plane, operated by Voepass airlines, went into a sickening downward spin before crashing into the ground. The airline confirmed that all 62 passengers and crew members, all Brazilians, perished in the accident, revising an earlier report that stated 61 people were on board. While the impact caused damage to nearby houses, thankfully no injuries or fatalities were reported among residents.
The crash transformed the plane’s fuselage into a mangled mass of twisted metal. As of Saturday morning, firefighters had recovered 16 bodies, with over 200 people working tirelessly on the recovery effort. The deceased were being transported to the Sao Paulo morgue. The normally tranquil, wooded enclave where the plane came down was a hive of activity, swarming with police cars, ambulances, and firetrucks. A persistent overnight rain complicated recovery operations, which could take days according to Captain Maycon Cristo, a spokesman for local firefighters.
The twin-engine turboprop, manufactured by French-Italian aviation firm ATR, was en route from Cascavel in southern Parana state to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport. The company has pledged to provide assistance in the investigation. According to the Flight Radar 24 website, the plane flew for about an hour at 17,000 feet, before abruptly losing altitude at 1:21 pm (1621 GMT). Radar contact was lost just a minute later at 1:22 pm, as reported by the Brazilian air force.
Brazil’s Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA) has launched an inquiry into the cause of the crash. Investigators successfully recovered the ‘black box’ containing flight data, which could provide crucial insights into the events leading up to the crash.
The aircraft, in service since 2010, was deemed to be in compliance with current safety standards, according to the National Civil Aviation Agency. The agency also confirmed that all four crew members were fully certified. Voepass’s operations director, Marcel Moura, stated that the plane underwent routine maintenance the night before the accident and no technical problems were identified.
Residents of the neighborhood where the plane fell described hearing a loud noise followed by the horrifying sight of the plane descending in a near-vertical free-fall. Videos captured a large plume of smoke billowing from the crash site. Military police reported no casualties on the ground and confirmed that fires ignited by the crash had been extinguished.
This tragic event marks one of the worst aviation accidents in Brazil’s history. In 2007, a TAM airlines Airbus A320 overran a runway at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport, crashing into a warehouse and resulting in the deaths of all 187 passengers and crew, along with 12 runway workers. Two years later, an Air France A330 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean, claiming the lives of all 228 people on board.
