The plane crash could be due to a number of factors, according to experts. (File)
Rio de Janeiro:
An ATR-72 turboprop plane operated by regional carrier Voepass crashed on Friday in a residential area near São Paulo, Brazil, killing all 62 passengers on board.
Investigators have recovered the plane’s so-called black box containing voice recordings and flight data, with a preliminary report expected within 30 days, the head of Brazil’s aviation accident investigation center Cenipa said on Sunday.
HOW DID THE CRASH OCCUR?
The plane was destined for São Paulo from Cascavel, in the state of Paraná, and crashed at around 1:30 pm (16:30 GMT) in Vinhedo, about 80 km (50 miles) northwest of São Paulo.
The aircraft flew normally until 1:21 pm, when it stopped responding to calls, and radar contact was lost at 1:22 pm, the Brazilian Air Force said in a statement. The plane reported no emergency.
Videos of the event show that the sky was apparently clear when the plane began to spiral in an unusual circular motion.
WHAT WILL EXPERTS LOOK FOR?
US aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse said investigators would look at aspects such as weather and examine the extent to which engines and controls were working correctly, to help identify what caused the loss of control.
COULD WEATHER CONDITIONS CAUSE THE CRASH?
Videos of the crash analyzed by aviation experts led some to speculate that ice had accumulated on the plane. On Friday, Voepass said ice was forecast at the altitudes at which the plane was flying, but that it should be within an acceptable level.
Brazilian aviation engineer and accident investigator Celso Faria de Souza said he was almost certain that ice caused the accident, judging by the video.
ATR-72 planes have had problems with icing, with a 1994 crash in the US state of Indiana killing 68 people after the plane was unable to bank due to ice buildup. After this incident, the manufacturer ATR improved its de-icing system. In 2016, in Norway, an ATR-72 had problems after ice accumulated on the plane, but the pilot managed to regain control.
COULD THE ENGINE HAVE FAILED?
John Hansman, a professor in the department of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reviewed some of the images of the crash in Brazil shared on social media and, without having reviewed the flight data, said the crash did not appear to have been caused by the weather. .
It could have been an engine failure on one side, poorly managed by the crew, which would have caused it to spin down, Hansman said.
ARE MULTIPLE POINTS OF FAILURE POSSIBLE?
Air accidents can be due to a number of factors, according to experts. These could be ice, engine failure or human error. In many cases, there is more than one cause, said Robert A. Clifford, an attorney who represented some of the families of victims of the 1994 crash.
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