62 bodies recovered from the wreckage of a Brazilian plane crash
Brazilian authorities finished rescuing the bodies of the 62 passengers who perished when their plane crashed, and scientists began scrutinizing the tragic aircraft’s black boxes to establish the cause of the accident.
The ATR 72-500 airliner went into a horrific downward spin before crashing into a residential neighborhood in Vinhedo, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Brazil’s financial city, São Paulo.
Voepass Airlines’ plane dropped almost vertically, crashed on its belly, and exploded in flames, landing with such power that it was virtually “flattened,” according to Sao Paulo fire lieutenant Olivia Perroni Cazo.
A total of 62 bodies (34 male and 28 female) were collected and transported to a morgue in Sao Paulo for identification and delivery to their families, according to the regional government on Saturday evening.
Two people have already been recognized by fingerprints, with Vinhedo Mayor Dario Pacheco identifying the pilot and co-pilot.
The ATR-built twin-engine aircraft was flying from Cascavel, southern Parana state, to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport.
Experts from Brazil’s Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA) have begun investigating two black boxes found from the wreckage, which record cabin discussions and in-flight data, according to the center’s chief Marcelo Moreno.
The Brazilian Air Force intends to publish a preliminary assessment “within an estimated 30 days.”
According to the Flight Radar 24 website, the jet flew for approximately an hour at 17,000 feet (5,180 meters) until 1:21 pm (1621 GMT), when it began decreasing altitude at a rapid pace.
The air force stated that radar contact had been lost at 1:22 p.m. It stated that the plane’s crew “at no time declared an emergency or were under adverse weather conditions.”
– ‘No technological difficulties’
ATR, a joint venture between European behemoth Airbus and Italy’s Leonardo, said its experts will cooperate with the probe.
The plane, which has been in use since 2010, met current criteria, according to the National Civil Aviation Agency, and all four crew members were fully certified.
Voepass’s operations director, Marcel Moura, said the plane had undergone routine maintenance the night before the accident and that “no technical problems” were found.
But experts suggested icing of the plane’s wings may have been behind the accident.
Moura said the plane was a type that flies at an altitude “where there is a greater sensitivity to icing,” but that conditions Friday were “within acceptable parameters for a flight.”
– National mourning –
The fiery crash transformed the plane’s fuselage into a mass of twisted metal. Despite the devastation, there were no casualties on the ground.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has declared three days of national mourning for what was one of the worst aviation accidents in the country’s history.
It was dreadful. “What a sad tragedy,” remarked a terrified Lourdes da Silva Astolfo, 67, whose home is barely yards (meters) away from the crash site.
She told AFP that she first felt a “rumbling, almost like a tremor,” before noticing the jet practically directly overhead. Seconds later, there was a spectacular impact and frightened screams from neighbors as a dense cloud of acrid smoke billowed out.
A continuous stream of police cars, ambulances, and firetrucks passed through the normally calm, forested neighborhood where the jet crashed on Saturday.
Voepass said all the victims were traveling on Brazilian identity credentials. One woman had dual citizenship with Portugal, and there was also a family of three Venezuelans.
Brazil experienced its worst major air disaster in 17 years.
In 2007, TAM Airlines’ Airbus A320 overran a runway at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport and crashed into a warehouse, killing all 187 people on board and 12 runway workers.
AFP
