The final words of a pilot whose passenger plane crashed in Brazil last August, killing all 62 people on board, have been revealed from the aircraft's black box. The Voepass flight from Cascavel to Guarulhos Airport in São Paulo went down in the town of Vinhedo, leaving no survivors.
According to transcripts from the black box, the co-pilot asked the pilot, 'What is going on?' as the plane began to lose altitude, stating that the aircraft needed to be 'stabilised'. The audio captured two hours of flight, including the moments before the crash, with screams heard from the ground seconds before impact.
Analysis of the black box did not indicate any engine failure or unusual activity, leaving investigators puzzled. The ATR 72-500 aircraft carried 58 passengers and four crew members. Social media footage showed the plane spiralling into the ground, and the crash site was engulfed in flames, damaging one home but causing no injuries on the ground.
Witness Felipe Magalhaes said he heard the plane falling and saw the crash from his window. Another local, Nathalie Cicari, described hearing a loud noise and seeing the plane spinning, realising it was not normal. Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed solidarity and held a minute of silence, while São Paulo's governor declared three days of mourning.
