aviation

Relatives Of The Victims Of The Plane Crash In Brazil Convene To Identify The Deceased

On Sunday, August 11, 2024, families of the victims from a plane crash in Brazil convened at a morgue and hotel in Sao Paulo, where forensic specialists were engaged in the identification of the remains of the 62 individuals, including passengers and crew, who lost their lives in the incident. According to local authorities, the remains of the pilot, Danilo Santos Romano, and co-pilot, Humberto de Campos Alencar e Silva, were the first to be positively identified by the forensic team.

The government of Sao Paulo state announced in a statement late Saturday that all victims' bodies have been retrieved. The report indicated that there were 34 male and 28 female bodies found among the wreckage. The ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop, operated by the Brazilian airline Voepass, was en route to Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo, carrying 58 passengers and four crew members, when it crashed on Friday in Vinhedo, located 78 kilometers north of the city. Voepass further noted that three passengers possessed Brazilian identification while also holding Venezuelan documents, and one individual had Portuguese documentation.

According to Parana State Governor Ratinho Junior, there were at least eight medical professionals aboard the flight. Additionally, it has been confirmed that four professors from Unioeste University in western Paraná lost their lives in the incident. Among the passengers, three-year-old Liz Ibba dos Santos, who was traveling with her father, was the only child identified. The remains of Luna, a dog accompanying a Venezuelan family, were discovered in the wreckage of the aircraft. Law enforcement has restricted access to the main entrance of the Sao Paulo morgue, where the identification of the crash victims is taking place. Family members of the victims arrived at the scene, some on foot and others in minivans. No statements were made to the press, and authorities requested that the families not be filmed upon their arrival.

A flight transporting additional family members from the state of Parana arrived at Guarulhos airport on Saturday afternoon, and they opted not to engage with reporters. The airline provided a minivan to facilitate their transportation to the morgue. Numerous family members convened at a hotel in downtown Sao Paulo, where they similarly chose not to interact with the media. The morgue in Sao Paulo commenced receiving bodies on Friday evening and requested that relatives of the victims bring medical, x-ray, and dental records to assist in the identification process. Blood tests were also performed to aid in these identification efforts. Some family members who expressed their grief regarding the tragedy did so through social media platforms.

Tania Azevedo, who tragically lost her son Tiago in the recent accident, has been staying at a hotel in Sao Paulo. In a heartfelt social media post, she expressed her anticipation of visiting the morgue. "I believe Tiago is somewhere, offering assistance to those injured who also require light and love," she stated. "I cannot bring myself to go there (to the morgue). I am here, waiting. It is dark here; I need light and to embrace self-love." Eyewitness accounts captured the aircraft in a flat spin, descending vertically before it ultimately crashed within a gated community, resulting in a charred fuselage. Local residents reported that there were no injuries among those on the ground.

This incident marks the most catastrophic aviation disaster globally since January 2023, when a Yeti Airlines aircraft in Nepal experienced a stall and subsequently crashed during landing, resulting in the loss of 72 lives. The aircraft involved was also an ATR 72, and the final investigation attributed the accident to pilot error. Metsul, a highly regarded meteorological firm in Brazil, reported on Friday that there were indications of severe icing conditions in the state of Sao Paulo at the time of the incident. Local news outlets cited experts who suggested that icing could have contributed to the crash. A video circulated on social media platforms on Saturday featured a Voepass pilot addressing passengers on a flight from Guarulhos to Cascavel, the origin of the ill-fated ATR 72. He emphasized the aircraft's long-standing safety record and urged passengers to remember his fallen colleagues and the airline, requesting their prayers.

"This tragedy extends beyond those who lost their lives in the accident; it impacts us all," stated the unnamed pilot. "We dedicated ourselves fully to our mission of ensuring your safe and comfortable arrival at your destination." On October 31, 1994, an American Eagle ATR 72-200 met with disaster, and the United States National Transportation Safety Board identified ice accumulation as the probable cause while the aircraft was in a holding pattern. The plane lost control at approximately 8,000 feet and subsequently crashed, resulting in the deaths of all 68 individuals on board. In response, the US Federal Aviation Administration implemented operational guidelines for ATRs and similar aircraft, advising pilots against the use of autopilot in icy conditions. Brazilian aviation expert Lito Sousa cautioned that meteorological factors alone may not sufficiently account for the circumstances surrounding the Voepass plane's crash on Friday.

Sousa informed The Associated Press via telephone that relying solely on images to analyze an air crash may result in erroneous conclusions about its cause. He noted, "We can observe that the aircraft lost its support and lacked horizontal speed. In this state of flat spin, regaining control of the aircraft was impossible." The Brazilian Air Force announced on Saturday that the two flight recorders from the aircraft have been dispatched to its analysis laboratory located in Brasilia. The findings from this investigation are anticipated to be released within a 30-day timeframe. Marcelo Moura, the director of operations at Voepass, stated to reporters late Friday that while ice was present, it remained within acceptable limits for aircraft operation. Furthermore, the Brazilian Air Force's air accident investigation and prevention center previously indicated that the pilots of the plane did not seek assistance nor reported any adverse weather conditions. The ATR 72, manufactured through a collaboration between France's Airbus and Italy's Leonardo SpA, is primarily utilized for short-haul flights. Since the 1990s, crashes involving various ATR 72 models have led to a total of 470 fatalities, as recorded by the Aviation Safety Network database.

Tag: Danilo Santos Romano Plane Crash In Brazil Sao Paulo