SAO PAULO — Brazilian air force investigators released their official findings Thursday on the 2024 Voepass airline disaster, which claimed 62 lives when the aircraft went into a fatal spin and plummeted to the ground near the major city of Sao Paulo.
The investigation determined that a dangerous combination of extreme icing conditions, repeated mechanical system malfunctions, and crew distractions all played a role in what became Brazil’s worst aviation tragedy in nearly two decades.
The Voepass ATR 72-500 twin-turboprop went down in a residential area of the city of Vinhedo on August 9, 2024, with no survivors among those aboard.
According to the investigation, the aircraft was traveling from the city of Cascavel to Sao Paulo’s international airport when it ran into severe atmospheric icing at an altitude of 17,000 feet. The icing caused the plane to lose lift and fall into what investigators described as an unrecoverable “flat spin.”
Data from the plane’s flight recorders showed the crew was aware of significant ice buildup on the aircraft. However, the de-icing system suffered repeated technical failures and was toggled on and off multiple times during critical moments of the flight.
At a press conference held in the nation’s capital, Brasilia, investigators described a systemic “culture of normalizing deviations” within Voepass, pointing out that known mechanical problems — including previously identified de-icing faults — had been accepted and allowed before the plane ever left the ground.
The report also revealed that the flight crew was occupied with routine radio communications and administrative duties during critical icing alerts, causing them to miss the window to perform corrective maneuvers.
Before the findings were made public, investigators shared the results directly with the families of those who perished in the crash.
