Summary President Lula da Silva declared mourning for the 61 victims of the Voepass ATR 72 crash in Brazil. The ATR 72-500 likely went into a flat spin due to wing stalls, as captured in video footage. The cause remains under investigation while the black boxes are being analyzed by the authorities.
Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has declared three days of mourning following a Voepass ATR 72-500 turboprop aircraft crash, killing all 61 people onboard. On August 9, 2024, the Voepass ATR 72-500 twin-engine turboprop aircraft was operating flight 2283 from Cascavel Airport (CAC) to São Paulo Guarulos International Airport (GRU) when suddenly the aircraft came down in the town of Vinhedo. The Brazilian carrier confirmed that the aircraft, registered as PS-VPB, was carrying 57 passengers and four crew members.
The airline added that the aircraft took off without any flight restrictions and that all its systems were ready to carry out the operation. The ATR 72-500 is believed to have experienced a flat spin, which occurs after both wings of a plane are stalled. Heartbreaking video footage circulating on social media shows the ATR 72 spiraling downward in a vertical descent.
Black boxes recovered from the crash site The cause of the airplane crash is still under investigation. The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) has reported that officers from the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Center now have the plane's two black boxes: the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR). According to Air Brigadier Marcelo Moreno: "This analysis will be carried out as quickly as possible, since there is still no set deadline for the conclusion of the investigation, since each case has its own particularities and may require different analysis times.
" The French-Italian aircraft manufacturer released a statement following the ATR crash in Brazil, stating: "ATR has been informed that an accident occurred in Vinhedo, Brazil, involving an ATR 72-500. Our first thoughts are with all the individuals affected by this event. The ATR specialists are fully engaged to support both the investigation and the customer.
" According to Brazilian local media outlet g1 , the aircraft's captain, Danilo Santos Romano, was the first victim identified by authorities. He was a 35-year-old pilot who had been with Voepass Linhas Aéreas since 2022. Before becoming an ATR captain, Romano flew various aircraft, including the Airbus A320 and Airbus A330, on both domestic and international routes with Air Astana and avianca Brazil, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Video on social media shows the aircraft spiraling out of control. More about Voepass VoePass (previously known as Passaredo Linhas Aereas) is a Brazilian carrier founded in 1995. The regional airline operates domestic flights within Brazil from its main base at Leite Lopes Airport (RAO).
Notably, Voepass is an all-ATR airline. Presently, the regional carrier has a total of 15 ATR turboprops in its fleet with an average age of 17.4 years, according to ch-aviation data.
The fleet comprises nine ATR 72-500, four ATR 72-600, and two ATR 42-500 aircraft. The airline's ATR 72s can accommodate 68 passengers in a single-class cabin, while the smaller ATR 42 turboprop can seat up to 48 passengers, again, in a single-class configuration..
