Turboprop tragedy in Brazil

Brazilian civil defence teams worked through the night removing the remains of passengers on a plane that crashed on Friday near Sao Paulo, killing all 62 people on board.

A regional turboprop plane fell into what aviation experts called a ‘flat spin’ before crashing in a residential neighbourhood near Sao Paulo, Brazil on Friday, killing all on board on Friday August 9.

Unusual circling descent

The plane’s unusual final circling motion before crashing triggered widespread speculation among aviation experts, leading some to suggest that ice had built up on the plane, or it had experienced engine failure, but investigators say it is still too early to tell. Relatives of victims were taken to Sao Paulo to help identification of the victims.

The plane, an ATR-72 turboprop, was bound for Sao Paulo from Cascavel, in the state of Parana, and crashed at around 1.30pm local time in the town of Vinhedo, some 80km from Sao Paulo. The Franco-Italian ATR, jointly owned by Airbus and Leonardo, is the biggest producer of regional turboprop planes normally seating between 40 and 70 passengers. Specialists from the manufacturer are said to be ‘fully engaged’ with the investigation.

Pilot appeared to be trying to avoid houses

Rio de Janeiro resident, Adriano Assis, was lucky though. It was revealed that he was supposed to have been on the same flight, but missed it due to arriving late to the airport after completing his shift late at a local hospital. As the plane had already completed boarding, he was refused entry.

Residents of the neighbourhood where the tragedy occurred filmed the plane coming down, one later saying that the pilot seemed to be attempting to avoid a busier more crowded area.