An ATR 72-500 turboprop plane operated by Voepass Airline crashed into a gated community in Vinhedo, Sao Paulo, Brazil, while en route to an oncology conference, killing all 62 people on board.
The victims included 57 passengers, 4 crew members, a 4-year-old boy, his mother, grandmother, their dog, and four victims with dual citizenship.
Among the victims were eight cancer doctors, including four professors from Unioeste University, two trainee doctors from Uopeccan Cancer Hospital, and two dedicated professional doctors. Some victims had shared social media updates before boarding the plane.
The pilot, Captain Danilo Santos Romano, 35, had over a decade of experience and 4,500 total flight hours.
The plane took off without incident but quickly descended over 13,000 feet in one minute, and the cause of the crash, Brazil's deadliest since 2007, is under investigation, including the possibility of ice buildup on the aircraft and meteorological conditions.
Only one home was damaged, and no residents were hurt in the crash, which was captured on video showing the plane spinning out of control before crashing near houses, with a large area engulfed in flames and smoke billowing from the crashed plane.
Investigators have retrieved the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, known as the "black boxes," to analyze and provide insight into the cause of the tragedy. The black boxes have been sent to Brasilia for data analysis.
Authorities have recovered and identified all 62 victims, including 34 male and 28 female bodies, approximately 30 hours after the accident. The victims included a father and his 3-year-old daughter, medical assistants, businesspeople, and professors.
The aircraft stopped responding to calls at 1:21 p.m., and radar contact was lost at 1:22 p.m., with no distress signal reported by the pilots. The black box containing voice recordings and flight data was recovered for analysis to determine the cause of the crash.
Investigations suggest that ice formation on the wings may have been a factor in the crash, as the ATR 72 plane dropped 4,000 meters in a minute before crashing. However, officials have not yet provided an explanation, stating it is too early to determine the cause. Severe weather conditions and icing were reported at the crash site.
The plane had been in use since 2010, and the crew was certified. Routine maintenance was done with no technical problems found.
Authorities are using various methods, including DNA samples from family members, to identify the victims, with most of the remains moved to Sao Paulo's police morgue. Civil defense teams are working to recover the bodies.
The Brazilian Federal Police and air force have initiated investigations into the crash, with the air force conducting a criminal probe to provide a full explanation to the public. A commission has been established to investigate the cause of the crash and prevent future incidents.
Flight tracker data revealed an active warning for "severe icing" at altitudes where the aircraft, a 14-year-old ATR 72-500 turboprop, was flying just before the crash.
ATR, a major producer of regional turboprop planes, was collaborating with the investigation into the crash.
The incident is one of the deadliest in Brazilian aviation history and the world's deadliest airline crash since January 2023, surpassing the Yeti Airlines crash in Nepal involving an ATR 72. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared a national mourning period after the crash.
The crash is the world's deadliest since January 2023, when another ATR 72 crash was blamed on pilot error.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: Sky News, AP News, The Independent, NBC News, Reuters, New York Post, Al Jazeera, Social News XYZ, Mississippi Valley Publishing, Aussiedlerbote, 2 News, Air Flight Disaster, CTV News, Head Topics, Digital Journal.