August 9th 2024.
Tragedy struck Brazil's Sao Paulo state on Friday as a passenger plane crashed into a gated residential community. The crash claimed the lives of all 61 people on board, leaving behind a smoldering wreck. The devastating news was confirmed by officials from both the airline and local authorities.
As the details of the incident emerged, there was no immediate word on any casualties among the residents of Vinhedo, the city where the crash took place. Witnesses at the scene reported that no one from the neighborhood was harmed. The airline, VOEPASS, released a statement revealing that their ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop was en route to Sao Paulo's international airport Guarulhos with 57 passengers and 4 crew members when the tragedy occurred.
The flight manifest provided by VOEPASS listed the names of the passengers but did not mention their nationalities. It was later clarified that there were 58 passengers on board, along with the crew. In a heartbreaking statement, the airline expressed their deep sorrow and confirmed the loss of all 61 lives. They also assured that their top priority at the moment is to provide unrestricted assistance to the victims' families and cooperate with authorities to determine the cause of the accident.
According to flight tracking data, the Voepass Linhas Aéreas experienced a sudden drop of 17,000 feet in just one minute before crashing. However, the exact reason behind this remains unclear. This unfortunate incident marks the deadliest airline crash since January 2023, when 72 people lost their lives on a Yeti Airlines plane in Nepal due to pilot error. Coincidentally, that plane was also an ATR 72.
As the news spread, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva asked for a minute of silence at an event in southern Brazil as a mark of respect for the victims. Meanwhile, the state's firefighters, military police, and civil defense authority rushed to the crash site to provide assistance. The public security secretary of Sao Paulo, Guilherme Derrite, addressed the media and confirmed that there were no survivors. He also stated that the black box of the plane, which holds crucial information about the flight, was found intact.
A resident and witness, who wished to be identified only as Ana Lucia, shared her terrifying experience with reporters. She recalled thinking that the plane might crash in her yard. Thankfully, there were no casualties among the locals. However, a video obtained from a witness by The Associated Press showed at least two bodies amidst the flaming wreckage. Brazilian television network GloboNews also aired aerial footage of the devastated area with smoke billowing out of the destroyed plane.
The flight tracking website Flightradar24 revealed that the plane was descending at a rate of 8,000 to 24,000 feet per minute in the last minute of the flight, based on data received from the plane. It had begun losing altitude 90 seconds before the crash. The plane's altitude dropped by about 250 feet in 10 seconds at 1.21 pm, followed by a 400-foot climb in just eight seconds. Then, within a minute, it plummeted about 17,000 feet before the last data transmission at 1.22 pm.
The Brazilian Air Force's center for the investigation and prevention of air accidents released a statement stating that the pilots did not respond to calls from the air traffic control in Sao Paulo, nor did they report any issues or adverse weather conditions. In a separate statement, the Federal Police of Brazil revealed that they had already begun their investigation and dispatched specialists in plane crashes and disaster victim identification to assist.
Meanwhile, VOEPASS staff at the Guarulhos airport informed the AP that they were notifying the families of the victims and providing them with support in a private room at the airport. ATR, the manufacturer of the plane, expressed their condolences and revealed that they were informed that the accident involved their ATR 72-500 model. The company has pledged to fully cooperate with the investigation and support their customer during this difficult time.
The ATR 72 is primarily used for shorter flights and is a joint venture of Airbus in France and Italy's Leonardo S.p.A. Sadly, crashes involving various models of the ATR 72 have resulted in 470 deaths since the 1990s, according to the Aviation Safety Network's database. The Capela neighborhood where the crash took place is located far from the city center and is home to about 77,000 residents. The flight had departed from Cascavel, in the state of Parana, before meeting with this tragic fate.
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