Brazil probe shows severe icing contributed to 2024 plane crash that killed 62

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SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian air force investigators on Thursday published their findings about the 2024 Voepass airplane accident that killed 62 people after it spiraled into a crash outside metropolis Sao Paulo.

The probe confirmed that a combination of severe icing conditions, as well as mechanical system failures and pilot distractions, contributed to the country's most deadly air crash since 2007.

The Voepass ATR 72-500 twin-turboprop crashed into a residential neighborhood in the city of Vinhedo on Aug. 9, 2024, killing all aboard.

The flight en route from the city of Cascavel to Sao Paulo’s international airport encountered severe atmospheric icing while cruising at 17,000 feet, the probe showed. That caused the aircraft to lose lift and enter an unrecoverable “flat spin."

Flight recorders indicated that the crew recognized heavy ice accumulation on the airframe. But the plane’s de-icing system experienced recurring technical faults and was repeatedly switched back and forth during critical phases of the trip.

Investigators said during a press conference in capital Brasilia that a systemic “culture of normalizing deviations” took place within Voepass and noted there were preexisting mechanical issues, which included known de-icing faults, that were tolerated before takeoff.

The probe also showed the crew was distracted by routine radio communications and administrative tasks during severe icing warnings and did not make correction maneuvers in time.

The findings were presented to the victims’ families before public release.