Voepass Airlines said the plane, en route to Sao Paulo International Airport, took off from Cascavel, Parana state, and crashed at approximately 1:30 p.m. local time Friday in the town of Vinhedo, about 80 kilometers northwest of Sao Paulo.
Video footage of the incident shows the ATR-72 aircraft losing control as it crashed behind a clump of trees near residential areas, followed by a large column of black smoke.
The scene of the plane crash in Vinhedo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, on August 9. Photo: CNN
A resident living nearby, Daniel de Lima, said he heard a loud noise before looking out of his apartment in Vinhedo and seeing the plane flying in a spiral pattern.
"It was spinning, but not moving forward," he told Reuters. "Soon after that, it fell from the sky and exploded." City officials in Valinhos, near Vinhedo, said there were no survivors.
But only one house was damaged in the incident and no residents were injured. "I almost believe the pilot was trying to avoid a densely populated residential area nearby," De Lima said.
Video of the incident (source: YouTube/SkyNews)
X [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkqLocWVkMs[/embed]
Authorities have not yet stated the cause of the accident. The head of Brazil's air accident investigation center, Cenipa, said the plane's "black box" had been recovered at the scene.
Video of the accident shows clear weather, with forecasts for the area predicting light rain and strong winds of 10 km/h.
John Hansman, a professor of aviation and space travel at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reviewed some of the footage shared on social media and said the crash did not appear to have been caused by weather. "It could have been a failure of one engine that the crew handled poorly," he said.
The plane was completely destroyed by fire after crashing, killing all 62 people on board. Photo: Getty
Voepass, Brazil's fourth-largest airline by market share, said it could not provide any further information about the cause of the crash. They stated that the plane was carrying a total of 57 passengers and 4 crew members on board.
ATR, jointly owned by Airbus and Leonardo, is the primary manufacturer of this turboprop aircraft, which can carry between 40 and 70 people. ATR says its experts are "fully focused" on the investigation into the accident. The aircraft's engines were PW 127s manufactured by Pratt & Whitney of Canada.
This is the worst aviation accident in Brazil since the 2007 crash that killed 199 people on a flight operated by TAM Airlines, which later merged with LAN to become LATAM Airlines.
Huy Hoang (according to Reuters, CNN, AP)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tai-nan-may-bay-nghiem-trong-o-brazil-ca-61-nguoi-thiet-mang-post307119.html
