Details have been shared about some of the 62 victims of a tragic plane crash in Brazil on Friday.
On Friday afternoon, a commercial aircraft met with disaster as it crashed in a residential area of Sao Paulo state in Brazil, having been recorded spiraling uncontrollably through the sky.
Voepass, the airline responsible for the flight, has verified that the twin-engine turboprop aircraft was heading to Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo,
carrying 58 passengers and four crew members, when it tragically crashed in the city of Vinhedo.
Tragically, all 62 people on board the flight were killed in the crash.
Many of the victims on board the fateful flight have now been named, including the ‘experienced’ pilot who was in charge of the aircraft.
Captain Danilo Santos Romano, 35, was the first victim identified in the wake of the disaster.
He had accumulated more than a decade of experience as a pilot and had been employed by Voepass airline since 2022, as indicated on his LinkedIn profile, during which he recorded over 4,500 flight hours.
A colleague who’d endorsed him had said Romano was “always smiling” and “willing to help”.
Romano seemed to take pleasure in sports during his leisure time, as evidenced by Facebook photos depicting him participating in a recent 15K race and celebrating the Palmeiras football club.
Authorities have verified that Romano was present in the cockpit of the twin-engine ATR 72-500 aircraft that crashed in a residential area.
Captain Danilo Santos Romano was confirmed to have been in the cockpit when the plane crashed. Credit: LinkedIn/Danilo Santos Romano
The flight manifest, as reported by Globo TV News, also identified co-pilot Humberto de Campos Alencar e Silva, aged 61, along with flight attendants Débora Soper Avila, 29, and Rubia Silva de Lima, 41.
Among the other victims were an elderly couple, José Cloves Arruda, aged 76, and his wife, Maria Auxiliadora Vaz de Arruda, who was 74 years old.
The youngest known passenger who perished on board was three-year-old Liz Ibba dos Santos, who was accompanied by her father, 41-year-old Rafael Fernando dos Santos.
They had intended to celebrate Brazilian Father’s Day together in Santa Catarina, as reported by Globo TV News.
The flight included a number of physicians traveling to a seminar, among them Arianne Albuquerque Estavan Risso and Mariana Comiran Belim, both of whom are clinical oncology residents at the Cascavel Cancer Hospital (Uopeccan).
The hospital paid tribute to the young doctors, saying in a statement that they “treated all patients with great dedication, affection, and respect.”
The statement added: “It is no wonder that the two were frequently praised by our ombudsman offices. The love that they both had for their profession was very clear.
“Now, all that is left for us is the longing and memories of two young doctors who left us too soon.”
Following the confirmation of no survivors, the initial death toll was reported as 61 individuals. However, Voepass subsequently clarified that the actual number of fatalities was 62, as a passenger named Constantino Thé Maia was not included on the manifest due to a “technical issue,” as reported by Globo TV News.
By midday on Saturday, nearly 30 bodies had been retrieved from the crash site, and officials anticipated that all would be removed by the end of the day.
Their remains were taken to Legal Medical Institute for formal identification.
The reason for the crash is still undetermined following the aircraft’s departure from Cascavel at 11:56 AM local time on Friday, en route to Sao Paulo.
Officials stated that the aircraft had been in the air for approximately one and a half hours without any issues, and the crew did not request assistance or indicate any unfavorable weather conditions prior to the tragic accident.
According to Ports and Airports Minister Silvio Costa Filho, there is no indication that the crew attempted to reach out to air traffic controllers at nearby airports to inform them of a potential need for an emergency landing.
Authorities confirmed that there were no survivors. Credit: Ettore Chiereguini/Anadolu via Getty Images
Eduardo Busch, the CEO of Voepass, stated during a press conference, as reported by CNN, that “the entire crew demonstrated competence.”
We are awaiting access to all communications between the pilot and the control tower in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the events that transpired.
Guilherme Derrite, the Secretary of Public Security in São Paulo, has verified the recovery of the aircraft’s black box from the crash site. This device, which records flight data and cockpit conversations, will undergo analysis to determine whether it provides additional insights into the factors that led to the plane’s rapid descent of over 13,000 feet within a minute.
The concluding moments of the aircraft were recorded by shocked witnesses as it descended from the sky, ultimately disappearing from sight behind a row of trees.
Additional witnesses recorded video of the charred debris after it landed alarmingly near a residence; however, no individuals on the ground sustained injuries from the incident.
Certain experts have raised doubts regarding the role of icing in the crash, as Marcelo Moura, the operations director for Voepass, informed reporters that while ice was predicted for Friday, it was deemed to be within acceptable limits for the aircraft.
As stated by Lt. Col. Carlos Henrique Baldi from the Brazilian Air Force’s Center for the Investigation and Prevention of Air Accidents, the aircraft received certification from multiple countries to operate under severe icing conditions, including nations where the effects of ice are more pronounced than in Brazil.
Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by this tragedy.