A VoePass plane carrying 57 passengers and four crew members crashed in Brazil, killing everyone on board and leaving burning wreckage in a residential area.
The airline, which operates a fleet of small aircraft manufactured by ATR, said the flight was bound for Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo from Paraná state. The plane crashed in the inland city of Vignedo in Sao Paulo state. Governor Tarcisio de Freitas confirmed at a news conference that no one survived.
VoePass, which initially said there were 62 passengers and crew on board, said in a subsequent statement on Friday that all 61 people on board died at the scene.
Video posted to social media on Friday afternoon showed the plane suddenly plummeting from the sky and spiraling as it fell. VoePass said in a statement that it was unclear how the incident occurred. The last known tracking of the plane by FlightRadar24 was at an altitude of 4,100 feet (1,250 meters) and approaching Sao Paulo.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked for a moment of silence for passengers at an event on Friday, saying “it seemed like everyone died”.
“I have to be the voice of some very bad news,” he said. “My deepest sympathies go out to the victim’s family and friends.”
Sao Paulo state firefighters said seven teams were working at the crash site. Freitas said he and Paraná Governor Carlos Roberto Massa Junior planned to fly to Vignedo immediately.
The plane involved in the crash was an ATR 72 model, a twin-engine turboprop aircraft that typically seats about 70 people. ATR is a joint venture between Airbus and Leonardo of Italy.
ATR said in an email that it was cooperating with investigators and the aircraft’s customer. “Our first thoughts are with all individuals affected by this incident,” ATR said.
ATR aircraft generally have a good safety record and are popular in countries with rougher terrain and smaller airports. Friday’s crash could be one of the deadliest so far this year. There were no airframe losses or fatal accidents involving passenger aircraft throughout 2023, according to the International Air Transport Association
VoePass, headquartered in the state of São Paulo, is one of Brazil’s oldest operating airlines. VoePass operates a fleet of 16 ATR models, including two smaller -42 models. The average age of the planes is about 17 years, according to tracking website Planespotters. According to FlightRadar24, the plane involved in the crash was 14 years old.
The airline, formerly known as Passaredo, announced the expansion of its codeshare agreement with Latam Airlines Group SA in 2023.
