By Amos Ssemuwemba
Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has announced a 3 days national morning. This follows a fatal passenger flight that crashed in Vinhedo, São Paulo, on 9 August 2024.
The aircraft, ATR 72-500 turboprop airliner, was flying from Cascavel Airport, Paraná, to Guarulhos International Airport, São Paulo, with 57 passengers and four crew members on board.
According to one eye witness she says “When I heard the sound of the plane falling, I looked out my window at home and saw the moment it crashed,” Magalhaes told Reuters news agency.
A passenger, Jose Felipe, was initially going to book on to a Latam flight but instead went to try and board the Voepass plane. “We thought we were going to go through Latam, but Latam was closed,” Mr Felipe told Reuter.
The aircraft spun out of control entered a rapid descent, this is said to have occurred around 13:22 Brazilian local time. According to G1 a Brazilian news portal, The firefighters reported that the plane crashed in Vinhedo, São Paulo, 76 kilometres from the city of São Paulo.
The Brazilian Air Force said in a statement that Flight 2283 did not declare an emergency, but other sources say that, In the area of the crash, there was an active Significant Meteorological information advisory for severe icing from 12,000–21,000 feet (3,700–6,400 m). Icing have resulted in numerous fatal accidents in aviation history. Ice accretion and accumulation can affect the external surfaces of an aircraft – in which case it is referred to as airframe icing
According to aviation records, icing is the formation of water ice on an aircraft. Ice accretion and accumulation can affect the external surfaces of an aircraft – in which case it is referred to as airframe icing and this has resulted in numerous fatal accidents.
The captain was Humberto de Campos Alencar e Silva, 61, the first officer was Danilo Santos Romano, 35,[12] and the flight attendants were Débora Soper Ávila, 28, and Rubia Silva de Lima, 41. All of the 61 passengers and crew on board Flight 2283 had Brazilian documents, however it is unknown if any of them had dual citizenships. Says G1 reporter.
Marcelo Moreno the head of the Brazilian Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA) has said; “we have retrieved the flight recorder and now this is going to help us in our ongoing investigations.”
The bodies of the victims were taken to the Legal Medical Institute in Campinas for legal proceedings.