Brazil grapples with Voepass aviation tragedy: Black box insights

“What’s happening?!” asked co-pilot Humberto de Campos Alencar e Silva moments before the Brazilian passenger plane crash. These were possibly his last words just before the crash that killed 62 people. Currently, investigators are analyzing recordings from the black box.

On Friday, August 9, Brazil was plunged into despair after a plane crash near the São Paulo metropolitan area. Fifty-eight passengers and four crew members died. This was, therefore, the largest aviation disaster in the history of Brazilian airlines.

Investigators are currently examining the circumstances of the accident, and the black box recordings are expected to help. As revealed on Wednesday by the Brazilian television station Globo, the analyzed fragments indicate that the pilots observed a significant power drop just before the tragedy.

Moments later in the recording, you can hear the words of the co-pilot Humberto de Campos Alencar e Silva, who asked, “What’s happening?!” This is followed by terrifying screams and then a loud bang.

Laboratory experts from the Centre for Research and Prevention of Air Accidents' work analyzing the recordings is hampered by the construction of the aircraft. This type of aircraft has engines very close to the pilot's cockpit, drowning out the pilots’ conversations.

However, specialists do not indicate that the first listen could point to any serious technical problems noted by the pilots. Perhaps the initial hypotheses will be confirmed, suggesting that the cause of the crash was the formation of ice on the airplane's wings.

Although almost a week has passed since the disaster, Globo reports that the identification of the victims is still ongoing. Currently, 30 bodies have been handed over to families and will be buried in the coming days. Some victims' families are announcing legal battles with Voepass Airlines, as passengers had indicated before the flight that the plane was very old.