Brazil mourns 62 lost in tragic plane crash, icing suspected

After the passenger plane crash in Brazil, which killed 62 people, investigators are analyzing the black box to determine the causes of the tragedy. Preliminary results suggest possible wing icing. The president has declared three days of national mourning.

After the passenger plane crash, which killed 62 people, investigators are analyzing the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder. The devices are meant to help determine the causes of the tragedy, which took place near the Brazilian metropolis of São Paulo. For analysis, they have been sent to the laboratory of the Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (Cenipa) in the capital.

Currently, actions related to the flight, operational conditions, and human factors are being examined, as well as analyses of the aircraft’s components and systems. A preliminary report on the disaster should be available within 30 days.

The VoePass Airlines plane crashed on Friday at noon (local time) during a flight from Cascavel to São Paulo. Fifty-eight passengers and four crew members died.

By Saturday evening – 30 hours after the accident – the fire department had recovered all the bodies.

According to the head of Cenipa, both environmental and technical factors, as well as possible human errors, are being examined. Meteorological data from the time of the disaster indicate turbulence, storms, and icing in the area.

As a possible cause of the disaster, experts are considering wing icing, which could cause the plane to lose lift and turn into a "rock with no carrying power," the Brazilian news portal UOL reported.

VoePass's CEO, Eduardo Busch, did not rule out that wing icing could have accumulated, but the pilots were experienced, and the plane took off with all systems functioning. "The aircraft was 100% operational at the time of takeoff," Busch said. Other experts suggest that the disaster could have resulted from a combination of several factors.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has declared three days of national mourning. The accident is considered one of the most tragic in the history of Brazilian aviation, according to Brazilian media.