The Voepass aircraft lost radar communication two minutes after takeoff and crashed in a residential area // There were no survivors

▲ Aerial view of the remains of the ATR 72-500 aircraft, of Italian-French manufacture and operated by Voepass, in the residential area of ​​Vinhedo, Sao Paulo.Afp Photo

Europa Press, AP, AFP and Xinhua

The newspaper La Jornada
Saturday, August 10, 2024, p. 22

Vinhedo. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has declared three days of mourning after a plane carrying 61 people crashed in Sao Paulo, in an accident in which, according to local authorities, there were no survivors.

Lula interrupted an official event in the state of Santa Catarina to ask for a minute of silence for the victims, as soon as he heard the news.

The plane, a twin-engine ATR 72-500 model (manufactured by the joint venture between Airbus in France and Leonardo SpA of Italy), departed from the town of Cascavel – in the state of Paraná – bound for Guarulhos, São Paulo, with 57 passengers and four crew members, and crashed inside a fenced residential area in the city of Vinhedo.

A witness video obtained and verified by the AP news agency showed at least two bodies among the burning wreckage, while Brazilian television network GloboNews broadcast aerial images of the plane with smoke billowing from its fuselage.

After the accident, the state governor, Tarcisio de Freitas, explained that The aircraft was destroyed. The work of Cenipa (Brazilian Aeronautical Accident Prevention and Investigation Center) will be essential, as well as the expertise of the federal police.he added.

The collection of vestiges that allow the identification of the remains of the passengers has already begun and will extend throughout the nightthe state leader added, while authorities indicated that the bodies will be transferred to the Sao Paulo morgue.

The aircraft of the Brazilian company Voepass Linhas Aéreas reported that is prioritizing the provision of unrestricted assistance to the families of the victimsin addition to his collaboration with authorities to determine the cause of the accident.

According to the company, the plane had no flight restriction because it had with all its systems suitable for carrying out the operation.

The Brazilian Air Force explained that the flight occurred within normal limits until 1:20 p.m. local timebut a minute later the aircraft did not respond to the calls “from control and did not declare an emergency or be under adverse weather conditionsadded that Loss of radar contact occurred at 13:22.

The black box, which contains the flight records, has already been recovered for analysis, Sao Paulo authorities said.

A resident and witness, identified as Ana Lucia, told reporters near the scene of the disaster: I thought it was going to fall in our yardand assured that this feeling It was terrifying.

The Peruvian government yesterday expressed its deep regret for the aircraft accident, condolences which were joined by the Chilean government, which regretted The tragedy that occurred in Sao Paulo, Brazil, due to the fatal plane crash that occurred today (yesterday)the Executive stated in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Following the plane crash, stories emerged of three people who did not board the plane due to inaccurate information at the boarding gates at Cascavel airport, Brazilian media outlet TV Globo reported.

Adriano Assis, one of the users who missed the flight, said: When I arrived at the airport I was waiting for the flight, but the arrivals and departures board and the microphones were not indicating anything. There was no one at the Voepass counter either..

In 2007, an Airbus A320 from the Brazilian airline TAM failed to land at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport and crashed with 187 people on board. The accident left 199 people dead in total, including 12 people working in the runway area, the news agency AFP reported.

Two years later, an Air France Airbus A-330 disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean after entering a zone of turbulence after taking off from Rio de Janeiro bound for Paris, with 228 people on board.