The Brazilian Plane Tragedy: What Could Have Happened in the Sky?

On August 9, 2024, tragedy struck when a plane crashed near São Paulo, Brazil, killing 62 people. Since the incident, aviation experts have begun investigations, analyzing videos and other sources to determine the cause of the crash.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva confirmed that all 58 passengers (some reports state 57) and four crew members died. On the day of the accident, the President also declared three days of mourning.

Fortunately, no one on the ground in the city of Vinhedo was injured, with the plane en route to São Paulo. The state’s military police, firefighters, and civil defense authority dispatched teams to the crash site.

The airplane was flying from Cascavel, Paraná, to Guarulhos Airport. Brazil’s President asked the nation to observe a minute of silence for those lost. VoePass Airline initially stated there was “no confirmation of how the accident occurred.”

On August 10, Brazilian investigators began analyzing the two black boxes from VoePass Flight 2283. They aim to determine why the airplane fell from 17,000 feet, resulting in the deaths of all those on board. The black boxes recovered include one containing cockpit audio and another holding flight data.

While the black boxes are being analyzed in Brazil’s capital, Brasília, by the Air Force’s Center for the Investigation and Prevention of Air Accidents, the Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, revealed that the Center has also opened a criminal probe.

It is worth noting that the VoePass airline and the French-Italian ATR manufacturer are assisting with the investigations. In a statement, the ATR manufacturer revealed that it had been informed of the crash involving its ATR 72-500 model.

ATR specialists are “fully engaged to support both the investigation and the customer.” The ATR 72 is generally used for shorter flights and the airplanes are a joint operation by Italy’s Leonardo S.p.A. and France’s Airbus.

According to The Aviation Safety Network’s database, since the 1990s various models of the ATR 72 have been involved in crashes that have led to over 450 deaths. This recent crash happened in the Capela neighborhood, a district far from the city center, with 77,000 residents.

Thankfully, only one house in a local condominium complex was damaged. Since the incident, worldwide aviation experts have watched footage of the plane spinning slowly while plummeting to the ground before crashing.

One footage shared by a news station showed the airplane before it reached the ground and upon impact, a thick black smoke was seen billowing up. The 89-foot plane landed almost directly on its belly, the leading theory by experts is that this occurred because it stalled.

The plane’s wings “lost the lift needed to keep the aircraft aloft,” causing it to stop flying and fall. John Cox, an airline pilot for 25 years, said, “You can’t get into a spin without stalling.” Cox, who now assists with airplane crash investigations, added, “It’s A plus B equals C.”

The stalling might’ve been partly caused by the severe icing. It’s theorized that ice formed on the plane’s wings or other parts, leading to reduced aerodynamic abilities and an increase in the aircraft’s weight. Experts noted how severe icing meant the plane had to travel faster to avoid stalling.

Celso Faria de Souza, a forensic expert in plane crashes and Brazilian aeronautical engineer, gave more insight into the theory. The expert said, “The way the aircraft fell, spinning out of control, is characteristic of someone who lost the functionality of the wing and the aircraft controls.”

De Souza said this could happen due to ice. Shortly before the plane’s crash, a different and nearby aircraft had suffered from icing. Systems to break up the ice that forms on planes’ wings are built into the aircraft.

The ATR 72-500 turboprop system had rubber tubes on the wings that were supposed to inflate and deflate to break ice buildup. Jeff Guzzetti, a former crash investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration, questioned if the crew activated the anti-icing system.

Guzzetti wondered if it was activated on the plane before failing. Experts have wondered why the plane, built in 2010 and described as having “fallen from the sky,” stalled in the first place. They’ve asked questions like, did the nose pitch up too high? Or did the plane lose significant speed?

Perhaps ice built up on the plane’s wings, or the engine failed. Maybe the two pilots got distracted or tired mid-flight, or the stall-warning system malfunctioned. The University of Southern California’s director of the aviation safety program, Thomas Anthony, says they know “it’s never one thing” that causes a crash.

According to Metsul, one of Brazil’s most respected meteorological companies, there were reports of “severe icing” in São Paulo at the time of the crash. This led experts to believe weather conditions might have been a potential cause of the crash.

Yet, aviation expert Lito Sousa warned that meteorological conditions alone might not fully explain why the plane crashed. He believed analyzing the crash using just photos could lead to incorrect conclusions.

Sousa stated, “But we can see a plane with loss of support, no horizontal speed. In this flat spin condition, there’s no way to reclaim control of the plane.” The Air Force’s Center also shared that the plane’s pilots didn’t call for help.

They also didn’t state that they were operating under adverse weather conditions. FlightRadar24, a flight tracker website, reportedly said the weather warning was issued at an altitude between 12,000 feet and 21,000 feet.

Reports have revealed that icing can affect an airplane by “reducing its thrust, decreasing its lift, and increasing drag.” VoePass’ Director of Operations, Marcelo Moura, said that although a warning was in place, the plane was flying at acceptable levels.

Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Henrique Baldi, of the Brazilian Air Force’s Center for the Investigation and Prevention of Air Accidents, revealed during a press conference that the plane is “certified in several countries to fly in severe icing conditions, including in countries unlike ours, where the impact of ice is more significant.”

While Baldi is heading the Center’s investigation division, the airline is taking all necessary measures to support those affected. Passengers, employees, and family members can get 24-hour information via telephone at 0800 9419712.

A resident and witness who spoke to the press, Ana Lucia de Lima, confessed, “I thought it was going to fall in our yard.” De Lima admitted that it was a “scary” experience and thanked God for no local victims.

The victims whose bodies were recovered from the crash site included a three-year-old, a Venezuelan family and their dog, cancer doctors, and an attorney who specialized in lawsuits against airlines.

Liz Ibba dos Santos was the three-year-old and youngest victim of the tragedy. The child was flying with her father, Rafael Fernando dos Santos, while her journalist mother wasn’t on the flight. Dr. Arianne Risso, 34, was one of the eight doctors who died in the incident.

Her mother, Fatima Albuquerque, spoke to reporters two days after the crash, saying God didn’t take her daughter “because he chose her to save lives.” The grieving woman blamed neglect by authorities and profit-hungry capitalists for the accident.

Risso and Mariana Belim were doctors from Cascavel’s Uopeccan Cancer Hospital. The duo, along with six other doctors, were on their way to attend a medical conference. Josgleidys Gonzalez, her mother Maria Gladys Parra Holguin, her young son Joslan Perez, and their dog were returning to their native Venezuela on the twin-engine turboprop.

A family friend revealed on social media that the trio left the country due to economic hardship and moved to Cascavel. Perez was born in Venezuela and grew up in Brazil, but his family couldn’t sort out his documentation.

The family decided to return to their homeland to handle the documentation issue before settling in Colombia. The trio had intended to change planes in São Paulo and fly to northern Brazil while completing the rest of their journey by bus. Sadly, they didn’t make it.

Thaiza Evangelista, a friend of the family, shared that the three victims had friends in Colombia willing to help them settle. Gonzalez, who chose to take their dog along because she couldn’t bear to separate from her son’s pet, had sent Evangelista her last message as they were about to board the plane.

Another passenger, Laiana Vasatta, was a lawyer who worked as a lay judge at the Court of Justice of Paraná. She also helped people by uploading social media videos offering consumer guidance.

Governor Ratinho Júnior of Paraná told journalists in Vinhedo that the doctors who died “were people who were used to saving lives, and now they lost theirs in such tragic circumstances.” Júnior, who had friends aboard, described the tragedy as “a sad day.”

The victims’ bodies, reportedly consisting of 34 males and 28 females, were moved to a police morgue in São Paulo. There, they will be identified and released to their families. Authorities called the victims’ families, asking them to bring dental exams, medical records, or X-rays to help with the identification process.

A preliminary crash report will be issued in 30 days by the Brazilian Air Force. This crash is said to be Brazil’s worst one since the 2007 incident, where 199 people died when a TAM Express plane crashed and burst into flames at São Paulo’s Congonhas airport.

The VoePass Airline crash is also reportedly the deadliest one since January 2023. At that time, 72 people died on a Yeti Airlines plane in Nepal after it stalled and crashed while making its landing approach. It was also an ATR 72, with its final report blaming the accident on pilot error.

While the crash in Brazil was real and heartbreaking, in the following story we try to lighten things with Hailey’s scary tale. She was married to a man who pretended to die in a plane crash until she came across him in a grocery store. The lengths he went to try and hide his secret almost ended Hailey’s life. Click here to read all about it.