Airplane carrying passengers crashed into a residential area in the state of Sao Paulo of Brazil on August 9, resulting in the deaths of all 61 people on board and leaving the plane's wreckage smoldering, according to AP, citing information from local officials and the airline.
The plane crashed in the city of Vinhedo, approximately 80 kilometers northwest of the state capital Sao Paulo. Authorities have not confirmed whether anyone on the ground was killed. According to eyewitnesses at the scene, none of the victims in the latest plane crash in Brazil were local residents.
The Capela neighborhood in Brazil is located in a distant district of the city with a population of 77,000 residents. The plane took off from Cascavel, a city in the state of Parana.
The airline Voepass confirmed that the ATR 72 plane carrying 57 passengers and 4 crew members was heading towards the international airport of Guarulhos in Sao Paulo when it crashed in Vinhedo. The airline provided a list of passenger names on the flight, but did not disclose their nationalities.
“The company regrets to inform that all 61 people on Flight 2283 have died at the scene. Currently, Voepass is prioritizing providing unlimited support to the families of the victims and cooperating effectively with the relevant authorities to determine the cause of the accident” - a statement from Voepass said.
The Federal Police of Brazil stated that an investigation has been launched and experts in aircraft accidents and victim identification have been dispatched to the scene. Brazilian authorities have begun transferring the bodies to a morgue on August 9 and have called on the families of the victims to bring any medical records, X-rays, and dental records that may assist in identifying the bodies.
This is the deadliest aviation accident since January 2023, when 72 people died on a Yeti Airlines plane in Nepal. The Yeti Airlines plane was also an ATR 72, and the final cause of the accident was attributed to pilot error.
The French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR stated that it has been informed that the accident involved an ATR 72-500 model aircraft. The company stated that ATR experts "are fully participating in the investigation and supporting customers".
ATR 72 aircraft are commonly used for short flights. The plane is manufactured by a joint venture between Airbus in France and Leonardo S.p.A of Italy. According to the Aviation Safety Network, numerous accidents involving various ATR 72 models have resulted in the deaths of 470 people since the 1990s.
