More than 40 families of victims of an airliner crash in Brazil gathered Sunday at a morgue and hotels in Sao Paulo as three French government investigators arrived in the country. Forensics experts worked to identify the remains of the 62 people killed.
Sao Paulo state government said the two engines of the plane were removed from the crash site Sunday evening, more than two days after the accident. The rest of the wreckage had already been removed.
The remains of all 34 male and 28 female victims were recovered on Saturday.
The ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop operated by Brazilian airline Voepass was headed for Guarulhos international airport in Sao Paulo with 58 passengers and four crew members aboard when it went down Friday in Vinhedo, 78 kilometers (49 miles) north of the city. Voepass said that three passengers who held Brazilian identification also carried Venezuelan documents and one had Portuguese identity.
ATR is a French-Italian company. International aviation protocols recommend that investigators from the country of origin of the airplane maker follow inquiries on foreign soil whenever a crash involving one of those planes takes place. Local authorities said that the three French investigators in Brazil work at BEA, the European country's body for civil aviation security.
The bodies of the pilot, Danilo Santos Romano, and his co-pilot, Humberto de Campos Alencar e Silva, were the first to be identified. Another 10 have been identified since, local authorities said. One body is already set for burial, and another seven are expected to follow on Sunday, Sao Paulo's state government said.
The airliner said in a statement to The Associated Press that Romano had just finished his first full year as commander. He was hired by the Brazilian company in November 2022 as a co-pilot. His experience with Voepass included 5,202 flying hours, all in planes of the ATR model, the only one the company owns.
At least eight physicians were aboard, Paraná state Gov. Ratinho Júnior said. Four professors at Unioeste university in western Paraná were also confirmed dead.
Liz Ibba dos Santos, a three-year-old girl who was traveling with her father, was the only child known to be on the passenger list. The remains of Luna, a dog that was traveling with a Venezuelan family, were also found in the wreckage.
Sao Paulo’s morgue began receiving the bodies Friday evening, and it asked victims’ relatives to bring in medical, X-ray and dental records to help identify the bodies. Blood tests were also done to help identification efforts.
The few family members speaking about the tragedy did so on social media.
Tânia Azevedo, who lost her son Tiago in the crash, was put up in one of the hotels in Sao Paulo, but said that she was waiting to go to the morgue.
“I believe Tiago is somewhere trying to help the other people wounded who also need light and love,” she said. “I couldn't go there (to the morgue). I am here waiting. It is dark here, I need some light and love myself.”
Images recorded by witnesses showed the aircraft in a flat spin and plunging vertically before smashing to the ground inside a gated community, leaving an obliterated fuselage consumed by fire. Residents said that there were no injuries on the ground.
Firefighters and rescue workers work in the debris at the site where an airplane with more than 60 people on board crashed in Vinhedo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, Saturday Aug. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
It was the world's deadliest airline crash since January 2023, when 72 people died on a Yeti Airlines plane in Nepal that stalled and crashed while making its landing approach. That plane also was an ATR 72, and the final report blamed pilot error.
Metsul, one of Brazil's most respected meteorological companies, said Friday that there were reports of severe icing in Sao Paulo state around the time of the crash. Local media cited experts pointing to icing as a potential cause for the crash.
A video shared on social media channels Saturday shows a Voepass pilot telling passengers on a flight from Guarulhos to the city of Cascavel that the ATR 72 has flown safely around the world for decades. He also asked passengers to be respectful to the memory of his colleagues and the company, and asked for prayers.
“This tragedy doesn't hit only those who perished in this accident. It hits all of us," the unidentified pilot said. "We are giving all our hearts, all our best to be here and fulfill our mission to take you safely and comfortably to your destination.”
Police restricted access to the main entrance of the Sao Paulo morgue where bodies from the crash were being identified. Some family members of the victims arrived on foot, others came in minivans. None spoke to journalists, and authorities requested that they not be filmed as they came.
A flight carrying more family members from Paraná state landed Saturday afternoon at Guarulhos airport. A minivan sponsored by the airline was provided to transport them to the morgue.
Sao Paulo's state government said that 26 families have already gone to the morgue for identification efforts, with more expected on Sunday.
An American Eagle ATR 72-200 crashed on Oct. 31, 1994, and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause was ice buildup while the plane was circling in a holding pattern. The plane rolled at about 8,000 feet (2,500 meters) and dove into the ground, killing all 68 people on board. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued operating procedures for ATRs and similar planes telling pilots not to use the autopilot in icing conditions.
Brazilian aviation expert Lito Sousa cautioned that meteorological conditions alone might not be enough to explain why the Voepass plane fell in the manner it did on Friday.
“Analyzing an air crash just with images can lead to wrong conclusions about the causes,” Sousa told the AP by phone. “But we can see a plane with loss of support, no horizontal speed. In this flat spin condition, there’s no way to reclaim control of the plane.”
Asked whether the 62 people aboard would have lost consciousness during the steep fall of the plane, Sousa said “it is possible, but not likely.”
Brazil’s air force said Sunday that both of the plane’s flight recorders had been analyzed at its laboratory in the capital, Brasilia, and their content has been transcribed. The results of its investigations are expected to be published within 30 days, it said.
Marcelo Moura, director of operations for Voepass, told reporters Friday night that while there were forecasts for ice, they were within acceptable levels for the aircraft.
In an earlier statement, the Brazilian air force’s center for the investigation and prevention of air accidents said that the plane’s pilots didn't call for help or say they were operating under adverse weather conditions.
The ATR 72, which is built by a joint venture of Airbus in France and Italy’s Leonardo SpA. is generally used on shorter flights. Crashes involving various models of the ATR 72 have resulted in 470 deaths going back to the 1990s, according to a database of the Aviation Safety Network.
Earlier on Sunday, Pope Francis said during a public mass at the Vatican there should be prayers for the victims of the air crash.
Tatiana Pollastri reported from Vinhedo
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are meeting face-to-face tonight in the high-stakes debate that comes less than two months before election day.
An American presidential historian is predicting a Kamala Harris presidency as the outcome of the upcoming U.S. elections in November.
The fundamental question ahead of their meeting in Philadelphia, one of the highest-stakes national debates in a generation, is whether – and how – the presidential candidates can deliver a compelling message.
Despite what the default options on the payment terminal might read, most Canadians still want to tip around 15 per cent, according to a new survey.
The Foo Fighters frontman announced that he recently became a father again, writing in a statement on his Instagram page on Tuesday that his new baby girl was born 'outside' of his marriage to his wife Jordyn Blum.
Canada’s children’s troubadour is selling his B.C. home, which is now up for grabs for $1,995,000.
As PricewaterhouseCoopers plans to enforce its back-to-office policy by tracking employees in the U.K., one employment lawyer explains whether the practice is legal in Canada.
A B.C. man has won his fight to keep a Great Dane in his condo – despite the building’s ban on pets.
An arbitrator's decision ordering two renters to cover more than $18,000 in repairs following a water leak at their landlord's home was "patently unreasonable," a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled.
An arbitrator's decision ordering two renters to cover more than $18,000 in repairs following a water leak at their landlord's home was "patently unreasonable," a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled.
A B.C. man has won his fight to keep a Great Dane in his condo – despite the building’s ban on pets.
The lucrative lobster fishery in Nova Scotia generates hundreds of millions of dollars for the provincial economy each year, but illegal fishing and lobster sales on the black market dominated discussions at the legislature this week.
In 2022, Tanya Frisk-Welburn and her husband bought what they hoped would be a dream home in Mexico.
Canadian National Railway Co. revised its earnings guidance for 2024 lower due to several factors including the recent labour stoppage.
Canada’s children’s troubadour is selling his B.C. home, which is now up for grabs for $1,995,000.
Francine has strengthened into a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico and is advancing toward Louisiana.
Iraqi security officials said an explosion targeted a site used by the U.S. military next to Baghdad airport late Tuesday, one day before an expected visit by Iran's president.
A personal assistant convicted of killing and dismembering his former tech entrepreneur boss after stealing about US$400,000 from him has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.
Mexico's Senate paused debate of a controversial judicial overhaul on Tuesday after protesters broke into the building, adding drama to already tense discussions of the reform, which critics fear could undermine the country's rule of law.
A city councillor in Switzerland has apologized and reportedly sought police protection against threats after she fired a sport pistol at an auction poster of a 14th-century Madonna and child painting and posted images of their bullet-ridden faces on social media.
The fundamental question ahead of their meeting in Philadelphia, one of the highest-stakes national debates in a generation, is whether – and how – the presidential candidates can deliver a compelling message.
Canadian-made weapons will be prohibited from reaching the Gaza Strip, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Tuesday.
Just days after demolishing his deal with Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is holding a three-day strategy session with his MPs in Montreal. There, his MPs are embracing their new-found distance from what one called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's 'radioactive' brand.
In his first press conference on the job, newly appointed Liberal economic growth task force chair Mark Carney said it's 'an honour' to serve in his new role, but wouldn't say whether he plans to run for political office, or whether he'll recommend changing the controversial carbon tax.
The market for weight-loss treatments is expected to see 16 new drugs vying for a slice of the lucrative business currently dominated by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, according to estimates from analysts at Morningstar and Pitchbook.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says it asked provinces to get rid of existing COVID-19 vaccines to avoid confusion with new formulations that will have the same drug identification number.
A nine-year-old boy contracted an often-deadly disease during a in northern Ontario camping trip in July.
A daredevil billionaire rocketed back into orbit Tuesday, aiming to perform the first private spacewalk and venture farther than anyone since NASA's Apollo moonshots.
During its glossy product announcement event on Tuesday, Apple unveiled a new role for its latest AirPods Pro model: medical device.
The Australian government on Tuesday promised to legislate this year to enforce a minimum age for children to access social media, but it has yet to announce how ages will be verified.
The Foo Fighters frontman announced that he recently became a father again, writing in a statement on his Instagram page on Tuesday that his new baby girl was born 'outside' of his marriage to his wife Jordyn Blum.
The first U.S. troops to deploy after the Sept. 11 attacks are suffering from radiation exposure that the government has yet to officially recognize 23 years later.
For the first time in almost 8,000 episodes, 'Wheel of Fortune' did not open with a hello from longtime host Pat Sajak.
As PricewaterhouseCoopers plans to enforce its back-to-office policy by tracking employees in the U.K., one employment lawyer explains whether the practice is legal in Canada.
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has ordered 7-Eleven Canada to pay a woman more than $900,000 in damages after she tripped on a pothole and broke her ankle in the parking lot of a convenience store.
A Canadian court has cleared the reorganization plan of Red Lobster that will see the seafood chain exit bankruptcy.
Barbara Kingsolver is this year's recipient of a National Book Award medal for literary achievement.
Givenchy has named Sarah Burton creative director for women’s and men’s collections, with immediate effect, the fashion house announced on Monday.
Do LGBTQ2S+ tourists have a green book-like system for staying safe while travelling in these politically precarious times? They don't have one. They have many.
Four of the league's last five Stanley Cup winners, and seven of the last 10 finalists, play in U.S. jurisdictions without state income tax.
Australian breaker Rachael Gunn, the Olympian widely known as B-Girl Raygun who went viral after her performance at the Paris Games, is now ranked the No. 1 breaker in the world.
Tyreek Hill's teammates and coaches used words like 'triggering' and a 'shame' to describe body camera footage showing a police officer yanking the Miami Dolphins receiver out of his sports car and forcing him face-first onto the ground during a traffic stop.
Nearly two-dozen drivers were caught in a speed trap outside a Vancouver elementary school on Thursday – as students were settling back into their daily routines.
Volvo Cars said on Wednesday that plug-in hybrids would continue to be a critical part of its profit growth plans over the next few years and that it would revamp its XC90 hybrid sports utility vehicle.
An Ontario man said he couldn't believe an electric car he bought three years ago for $20,000 would need a new battery at a cost of more than $33,000.
Mansour’s Menswear in Amherst, N.S., is celebrating its 100th anniversary this month
A beautiful Labour Day weekend at the lake was interrupted by some extreme weather when a tornado touched down in northern Ontario.
Charred stumps and the remains of fire-ravaged trees still cover large tracts of land on the Jasper landscape, but life is returning quickly down below.
Winnipeggers could soon be able to kick it into four-wheel drive and let it ride down the road on Bachman Turner Overdrive Way.
Mary Grace Rico is seeking help in getting treatment for a rare spinal condition.
Swimmer Nicholas Bennett and para canoeist Brianna Hennessy have been named Canada's flag-bearers for Sunday's closing ceremonies of the Paralympic Games in Paris.
Halifax resident Tucker Bottomley started feeling the painful effects of rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 21.
Roger Barker was looking forward to exchanging a book at one of the Little Free Libraries that had been erected in his neighbourhood, until he found it vandalized.
You never know what you might find in your doorbell camera footage...
After five days of deliberations, jurors were unable to break their deadlock in the second-degree murder trial of Kane Carter, who is accused of fatally shooting a rival gang member and an innocent teen passerby in January 2018.
Telus customers living in or travelling through parts of the Fraser Canyon were unable to use their cell phones to call 911 Tuesday, after a construction accident damaged a network cable.
Canada’s children’s troubadour is selling his B.C. home, which is now up for grabs for $1,995,000.
A man has been seriously injured in a stabbing on a TTC streetcar in downtown Toronto.
The group which runs the historical Revue Cinema in Roncesvalles Village will be sticking around to manage the theatre after reaching a new agreement with the owners.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are meeting face-to-face tonight in the high-stakes debate that comes less than two months before election day.
A 14-year-old girl died in a crash north of Lethbridge on Tuesday morning. RCMP responded to the intersection of Township Road 102 and Range Road 221 in Lethbridge County around 9:40 a.m. for a two-vehicle collision.
Alberta's premier has reaffirmed her commitment to Calgary’s Green Line LRT as long as the project matches the province’s new above-ground vision.
A seemingly ordinary strip mall in northeast Calgary has become a hub for social disorder, prompting concerns from local residents and businesses.
The City of Ottawa's automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras continue to generate millions of dollars in revenue, and while some argue the cameras are merely revenue-generating tools, city officials insist the funds are being used exclusively for infrastructure improvements to make roads safer for all users, including pedestrians and cyclists.
An Ottawa woman says a travel agent's mistake thinking they were booking a trip from Ontario, California, and not Canada's capital, will force them to take a lengthy detour with a four-and-a-half-hour drive and five flights through Georgia and California to get to Venice, Italy for vacation.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are meeting face-to-face tonight in the high-stakes debate that comes less than two months before election day.
Last week, the RCMP arrested an alleged terror suspect in Ormstown, Que., and residents of the small community are still reeling.
Following the announcement of the end of the NDP-Liberal confidence and supply agreement, a new national survey reveals that 47 per cent of Canadians would support calling a federal election to be called, while only 34 per cent would prefer not to.
Provincial police (SQ) discovered the body of a woman in her sixties at a residence in the municipality of Sainte-Julienne, located in Lanaudière.
While questions about a future contract extension may hang over the head of the National Hockey League's best player these days, there's little question what appeals to Connor McDavid most about plying his trade in one of the circuit's smallest markets.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are meeting face-to-face tonight in the high-stakes debate that comes less than two months before election day.
The City of Edmonton will be front and centre as the 10th season of The Amazing Race Canada comes to an end tonight on CTV at 8 p.m.
The Nova Scotia RCMP is investigating the suspicious disappearance of a 55-year-old woman.
Mansour’s Menswear in Amherst, N.S., is celebrating its 100th anniversary this month
Despite what the default options on the payment terminal might read, most Canadians still want to tip around 15 per cent, according to a new survey.
The library inside West St. Paul School doesn’t have any books in it anymore. Instead, two classes of students and their teachers have moved in because there isn’t room for them anywhere else.
The City of Winnipeg is ordering a limo company to stop operating unless it settles six years of back taxes.
Ground has officially broken for the construction of the Anne Oake Recovery Centre.
The Regina International Airport (YQR), along with over 20 partner organizations, held an emergency training exercise featuring more than 150 people Tuesday.
A retirement community in southwest Regina was evacuated after a small fire was reported in the facility's basement.
Another candidate has thrown their hat into the ring for the office of mayor ahead of this fall's municipal election in Regina.
A Simcoe, Ont. woman has been charged with assault after spraying her neighbour with a water gun.
Health officials are urging the public to take certain precautions to reduce their risk of getting rabies.
Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services says they’ve made some key changes that have resulted in improvements, including response times.
In 2022, Tanya Frisk-Welburn and her husband bought what they hoped would be a dream home in Mexico.
The City of Saskatoon is making its final preparations ahead of November's civic election.
With the arrival of September and more fall-like weather patterns – the likelihood of Saskatchewan seeing any more tornadoes this year is next to nothing.
A Pakistani citizen who was arrested last week in Quebec and charged with plotting a terrorist attack in New York City came to Canada on a student visa in June 2023, Immigration Minister Marc Miller has confirmed.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are meeting face-to-face tonight in the high-stakes debate that comes less than two months before election day.
As the 11th anniversary of her disappearance approaches, the family of missing Sudbury teen Meagan Pilon say they just want to know what happened to her.
On Tuesday, some changes were announced – moving on from their time with the Knights is Daren Machesney (goaltending coach), Matt Bogart (athletic therapist) and Thomas Black (video and assistant goaltending coach).
On Tuesday, the Planning and Environment Committee (PEC) considered an application by KAP Holdings to build a pair of three storey back-to-back cluster townhouses with 11 new residential units in addition to the existing three units.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are meeting face-to-face tonight in the high-stakes debate that comes less than two months before election day.
Tensions hit a high on Tuesday at Berczy Park as crews continued to dismantle a homeless encampment.
Emergency crews responded to a multi-vehicle collision in Bolton Tuesday morning that claimed the life of one person.
A Huntsville elementary school is locked down for the second time this week because of some bears roaming the schoolyard.
Reports indicate that violent crime in Winsdor’s Glengarry neighbourhood has decreased from an average of four incidents a month, to one.
The dream of a life on water has drowned in a sea of sadness for a group of Chatham-Kent residents who paid a Wallaceburg-based company for a floating home they never received.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are meeting face-to-face tonight in the high-stakes debate that comes less than two months before election day.
Renters in Esquimalt, B.C., say they are being caught in a housing conundrum—between the need to build more units and saving aging apartments that remain affordable.
Canada’s children’s troubadour is selling his B.C. home, which is now up for grabs for $1,995,000.
A B.C. man has won his fight to keep a Great Dane in his condo – despite the building’s ban on pets.
A woman suffered life-threatening injuries after being stabbed during a home invasion in Kelowna, according to authorities.
A 12-year-old collie was killed by three pit bulls in the B.C. Interior Sunday morning, according to authorities.
Mounties in northwestern B.C. say they have arrested the suspect in a fatal shooting almost exactly a year after it occurred.
The City of Lethbridge and its police force are looking at new ways to address substance abuse.
Two Lethbridge Police Service dogs began their retirement journeys on Tuesday, as the force welcomed its newest four-legged member.
Police in Lethbridge say a woman was left with serious injuries after being attacked with a weapon while she slept in her home.
A nine-year-old boy contracted an often-deadly disease during a in northern Ontario camping trip in July.
A beautiful Labour Day weekend at the lake was interrupted by some extreme weather when a tornado touched down in northern Ontario.
Monday marked International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Day, and experts in the field say there is a lot the public doesn’t know about the disability.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
Jim Lester’s farm hopped on the cow-cuddling trend in early August, and his time slots have been pretty well sold out ever since.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
