Brazil investigators blame icing and system failures for 2024 Voepass crash

Brazilian investigators have concluded that severe icing, mechanical faults and pilot distraction contributed to the Voepass plane crash that killed 62 people in August 2024.

The findings, released on Thursday by the Brazilian Air Force's accident investigation team, relate to the crash of an ATR 72-500 aircraft that came down in a residential area of Vinhedo, near São Paulo, on 9 August 2024. Everyone on board was killed.

The report found the aircraft encountered severe atmospheric icing while flying at 17,000 feet during a flight from Cascavel to Sao Paulo.

Investigators said the icing caused the aircraft to lose lift before entering an unrecoverable flat spin.

Flight recorder data showed the crew recognised heavy ice accumulation, but the aircraft's de-icing system suffered repeated technical faults and was switched on and off several times during critical stages of the flight.

Investigators also said there was a wider organisational problem within Voepass, describing a "culture of normalizing deviations" that allowed known mechanical issues, including de-icing faults, to go unresolved before take-off.

The report found the flight crew were also distracted by routine radio communications and administrative tasks while severe icing warnings were active, delaying corrective action.

The findings were presented to the victims' families before being released publicly.