Cockpit audio signifies points with de-icing in lethal Brazil airplane crash

SAO PAULO (AP) — The pilots of a Brazilian passenger airplane that crashed final month, killing all 62 individuals aboard, reported failure within the system to take away ice from the airplane, in accordance with a preliminary report made public Friday.

Investigators in Brazil had been cautious to keep away from saying this was the reason for the accident, and burdened there was extra work to be performed. Nonetheless, their report lent additional credence to aviation specialists’ major speculation: that the raise loss had been attributable to ice formation on the airplane’s wings and failure of its de-icing system.

Climate experiences from the day of the accident predicted ice formation within the area the place the airplane went down.

Audio from the cockpit’s voice recorder included feedback from pilots indicating ice was accumulating and there was a failure within the de-icing system, Paulo Fróes, an investigator within the the air drive’s middle for the investigation and prevention of air accidents, advised reporters in Brasilia.

Simply two minutes earlier than the crash, the copilot mentioned, “A lot of ice.”

The airplane’s knowledge recorder additionally indicated that its de-icing system, answerable for stopping ice build-up on wings, turned on and off a number of occasions, in accordance with their report.

“There are still many doubts. This accident shouldn’t have happened, not in the conditions in which the plane was flying and was being operated. It had protection equipment,” mentioned Carlos Henrique Baldin, head of the middle’s investigation division.

Operated by the airline Voepass, the flight departed Aug. 9 from the town of Cascavel, in Parana state, sure for Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos worldwide airport. It crashed into the yard of a house in a gated group within the metropolis of Vinhedo, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of the metropolis of Sao Paulo.

Footage of the ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop plunging whereas in a flat spin horrified individuals throughout Brazil.

“Based on the preliminary report, it isn’t possible to conclusively affirm that ice on the wings caused the accident, but there are indications ice formation was a significant contributing factor,” Henrique Hacklaender, the president of the nationwide aviators’ union, advised The Related Press after the press convention.

Hacklaender mentioned the ATR 72’s de-icing system is manually managed by pilots, and the preliminary report reveals that it was activated throughout the flight, indicating an try to make use of it. Nonetheless, the report would not make clear if the system was really employed, he added.

The air drive’s middle, referred to as Cenipa, is constant its investigation into the reason for the accident with no set deadline for conclusions. They’re additionally collaborating with an ongoing Federal Police inquiry to find out if anybody is responsible for the crash.

ATR is a French-Italian firm. Its mannequin 72 is usually used on shorter flights. The planes are constructed by a three way partnership of Airbus in France and Italy’s Leonardo S.p.A. Crashes involving numerous fashions of the ATR 72 have resulted in 470 deaths going again to the Nineties, in accordance with a database of the Aviation Security Community.

It was the deadliest airline crash since January 2023, when 72 individuals died on board a Yeti Airways airplane in Nepal that stalled and crashed whereas making its touchdown method. That airplane additionally was an ATR 72, and the ultimate report blamed pilot error.

An American Eagle ATR 72-200 crashed on Oct. 31, 1994, and the U.S. Nationwide Transportation Security Board decided the possible trigger was ice buildup whereas the airplane was circling in a holding sample. The airplane rolled at about 8,000 toes (2,500 meters) and dove into the bottom, killing all 68 individuals on board. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued working procedures for ATRs and comparable planes telling pilots to not use the autopilot in icing situations.