A residential area near Sao Paulo was the site where an ATR-72 turboprop, operated by regional carrier Voepass crashed on Friday resulting in death of all 62 passengers. The aircraft had been flying from Cascavel to Sao Paulo when it went down at about 1:30 pm local time in Vinhedo, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of the city.
Preliminary investigation and black box recovery
Cenipa, Brazil’s aeronautical accident investigation and prevention center has retrieved the aircraft’s black box that contained vital voice recordings and flight data.According to Cenipa’s head, a preliminary report should be issued within 30 days. By 1:22 PM the plane had reportedly lost radar contact after failing to respond to calls initiated by air traffic control without activating any emergency beacons.
Crash circumstances
Before the aircraft commenced its spiraling descent, videos taken by witnesses reveal clear skies. Various aspects are now being analyzed by experts with an aim of establishing what caused such a crash.
Potential causes and expert opinions
Weather conditions:
The weather conditions will be reviewed alongside the airplane’s engine as well as control systems by Anthony Brickhouse who is a U.S aviation safety expert. Initial reviews indicate that ice might have formed on its surface. However this is manageable because Voepass foretold ice at such heights but it wasn’t going to be much. Video evidence makes Brazilian aviation engineer Celso Faria de Souza strongly believe that ice played a major part in the crash. Icing has been linked with previous accidents involving ATR-72 planes including one which occurred in Indiana during 1994 and another in Norway during 2016 resulting in fatalities.
Engine failure:
Dr John Hansman from MIT viewed the video footage of the incident and suggested that engine failure rather than bad weather may have caused it. He suggested that if not properly managed by crew members, an engine malfunction on one side could have caused the plane to rotate downwards.
Multiple factors:
Robert A Clifford, a having dealt with such cases before explained that air crashes sometimes occur due to a combination of issues like ice, failure of engines and human mistakes.
Authorities will work with experts as the investigation unfolds so as to put together what happened in this unfortunate episode.
