The aircraft’s uncommon closing circling movement earlier than hitting the bottom triggered widespread curiosity amongst aviation specialists, main some to invest that ice had constructed up on the aircraft or it had skilled engine failure, however investigators stated it was too early to find out the reason for the crash.
“At present ice was predicted (on the altitudes the aircraft was flying at), however throughout the acceptable vary,” Voepass chief operations officer Marcel Moura advised a press convention.
“However the aircraft is delicate to ice, that might be a place to begin,” Moura stated, including the aircraft’s de-icing system, together with all different programs, had been deemed operational earlier than takeoff.
Brazilian aviation engineer and crash investigator Celso Faria de Souza advised Reuters {that a} buildup of ice may have brought on the aircraft to stall and spiral in the way in which that it did.
An ATR-72 crashed in 1994 in Indiana, killing 68, after the aircraft was unable to financial institution as a result of ice accretion. One other ATR-72 stalled out in 2016 in Norway after ice constructed up on the aircraft, however the pilot was capable of regain management of the plane.
An ATR-72 also crashed in Nepal in 2023, with the ultimate report attributing pilot error.
The top of Brazilian aviation accident investigation centre Cenipa stated the aircraft’s so-called “black field” containing voice recordings and flight information had been recovered from the location.
US aviation security professional Anthony Brickhouse stated investigators would take a look at issues like climate and whether or not the engines and controls have been functioning correctly forward of the crash.
“From what I’ve seen, it was undoubtedly what we’d name lack of management,” he stated.
Flightradar information confirmed vital gyrations in velocity earlier than the crash, US aviation security guide and former business pilot John Cox stated, cautioning that he would need to confirm the information however that one thing “actually vital” occurred to trigger the aircraft to spin when it got here down.
“It seems that there could have been some catastrophic occasion earlier than that lack of management,” he stated.