Recordings of the last moments in the air of the Voepass passenger plane that crashed last Friday over the city of Vinhedo, in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, were released on Wednesday, with the last words of the pilots contained in the plane’s black box. Aeronautical experts now have the ‘complete transcript’ of what happened in the cockpit of the plane.
The transcript revealed that both pilot and co-pilot reported a drastic loss of altitude about a minute before the crash, according to Brazil’s TV Globo. The co-pilot is also heard asking the pilot what was going on and that the plane needed “more power” to stabilise.
However, Brazil‘s aviation accident investigation centre, Cenipa, said in a statement on Wednesday that no media had access to the audio, transcript or recording data, although it did not comment on the TV Globo report.
The tragic plane crash that shocked Brazil
The plane, an ATR-72 turboprop belonging to local airline Voepass, was en route to Sao Paulo from Cascavel airport in Parana state and crashed at around 1.30pm local time.
A video shared on social media after the crash showed the plane spinning out of control as it plummeted behind a group of trees near an urban area, causing a large plume of black smoke.
Earlier this week news also emerged of a mysterious missing passenger among the crew. Voepass initially said the plane was carrying 57 passengers and four crew, but on Saturday the company confirmed the presence of another passenger on the flight and raised the death toll to 62, although it is unclear whether this additional passenger was simply omitted from the official report or whether he sneaked onto the plane.
At the moment, the causes of the accident are not confirmed, although the meteorological company, Metsul, reported severe icing in the region at the time of the crash as a possible cause, although the authorities asked to avoid any hasty conclusions and asked to await the outcome of the official investigation.
Airports minister Silvio Costa Filho said there is also an ongoing criminal investigation into the plane, which flew normally until 13:21 when it stopped responding to calls. The next minute, it lost radar contact, according to the official Brazilian air force report. However, the plane reported no emergency.
Videos of the crash show the sky apparently clear as the plane begins a spiralling downward motion until it plummets to the surface.
To determine the cause of the crash, investigators are analysing aspects such as the weather and examining the extent to which the engines and controls were working properly, so the hypothesis of the presence of ice in the atmosphere in the area makes sense as a cause of the plane crash.
On Friday, the airline itself said it had predicted icing at the altitudes at which the plane was flying, but the report revealed acceptable levels for flying.
In addition, ATR-72 aircraft have experienced problems with icing. In 1994, a similar accident occurred in the state of Indiana, resulting in the deaths of 68 people after the aircraft was unable to bank due to ice build-up.
Following that incident, ATR improved its de-icing systems, to the point that in 2016, in Norway, an ATR-72 experienced problems after ice accumulated on the aircraft, but the pilot was able to regain control.