Brazil's federal police have formally accused 16 current and former Voepass employees over the Aug. 9, 2024 crash that killed 62 people. Investigators cited repeated de-icing system failures across roughly 136 flights and alleged that the aircraft was cleared to fly into known severe icing despite prior failures that day. Fifteen employees face counts of endangering air-traffic safety, which could carry up to 12 years in prison, while prosecutors decide whether to bring criminal charges.
Brazil Federal Police Name 16 in Deadly Voepass Crash That Killed 62
FILE -A view of the debris of a Voepass airplane that crashed the previous day, in Vinhedo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, Aug. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)
Brazil's federal police on Thursday formally accused 16 current and former employees of regional carrier Voepass in connection with the Aug. 9, 2024, crash that killed all 62 people aboard. The probe, the result of a two-year investigation, alleges malpractice, omissions and negligence by company staff and management.
Who Was Named: Voepass owner and president José Luiz Felicio Filho is among those formally identified by investigators. Federal police also said 15 present and former employees face specific accusations of endangering air-traffic safety resulting in a fatal disaster — a charge that carries up to 12 years in prison. Some individuals are additionally accused of omitting technical failures from aircraft logbooks.
What Happened: The ATR 72-500 twin-engine turboprop was flying from Cascavel, in the southern state of Paraná, to Guarulhos International Airport when it plunged roughly 13,000 feet into the backyard of a gated condominium in Vinhedo, on the outskirts of São Paulo. The crash killed 58 passengers and four crew members.
Investigators reported that the aircraft's flight data recorders showed the plane's de-icing system repeatedly failed or was manually cycled on and off across some 136 flights. Federal police investigator André Ribeiro said the aircraft was irregularly cleared for departure into known severe icing conditions despite experiencing de-icing-system failures on three earlier flights the same day.
"This is a watershed in air crash disasters here," Ribeiro said, urging prosecutors to consider further scrutiny of Brazil's civil aviation regulator, ANAC.
The federal police concluded that deliberate omissions, improper maintenance practices and organizational failures directly contributed to sending the aircraft into hazardous weather. They announced their findings at a press conference after completing the two-year probe.
Separately, a Brazilian Air Force investigation released last month found that a combination of severe icing, mechanical system failures and pilot distractions all contributed to the country's deadliest air disaster since 2007. Local prosecutors must now decide whether to file formal criminal charges and, if so, proceed to trial.
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