Preliminary Report on August Airliner Crash in Brazil

By Ricardo Brito, Luciana Magalhaes and Luana Maria Benedito
BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters)
A preliminary report into the August crash of an airliner in Brazil found signs of ice buildup on the plane but no definite cause for the accident, according to the country’s Center for Research and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (Cenipa) said on Friday.

The document pointed out that icing detectors had been activated on airline Voepass’ aircraft. A Cenipa official told a press conference that cockpit recordings showed the co-pilot mentioned “a lot of icing” during the flight.

Investigators believe this comment might indicate a failure in the plane’s de-icing system, but Cenipa stated that this information still needed confirmation. Three experts interviewed by Reuters suggested that icing could have contributed to the crash but cautioned that the report is preliminary and accidents often result from multiple factors.

The ATR-72 aircraft from Voepass lost control and crashed on August 9, killing all 62 individuals on board. Cenipa indicated that investigations into the crash might take over a year.

U.S. aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse stated: “Everything I have read from the report today is consistent with icing, but accidents are rarely caused by one single event.” Officials reported that loss of speed alerts were triggered, but the ATR’s crew never declared an emergency before the plane spiraled down.

Cenipa officials stated that it is still unclear why a certified aircraft lost control. Lieutenant Colonel Paulo Froes noted that the plane was flying in an area with severe icing conditions. The carrier issued a statement confirming that both the aircraft and pilots were properly certified and that the ATR’s required systems were operational, adding that the company would continue to cooperate with the investigation.