By Ricardo Brito, Luciana Magalhaes and Luana María Benedito
BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) – A preliminary report into the crash of a passenger jet in Brazil in August found signs of ice buildup on the plane but no definitive cause of the crash, the country's Aeronautical Accident Prevention and Investigation Center (Cenipa) said on Friday.
The document noted that ice detectors had been activated on Voepass airline planes, and a Cenipa official told a news conference that cockpit recordings showed the co-pilot saying there was “a lot of icing” during the flight.
Investigators said the comment indicated the plane's de-icing system may have failed, but Cenipa said that information still needs to be confirmed.
Three experts interviewed by Reuters suggested icing could have played a role in the crash, but urged caution as the report is preliminary and accidents are caused by multiple factors.
The ATR-72 plane of local airline Voepass spun out of control before crashing to the ground on August 9, killing all 62 people on board.
According to Cenipa, the investigation into the accident will probably last more than a year.
US aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse said: “Everything I've read in today's report is consistent with icing, but accidents are rarely caused by a single event.”
According to officials, speed loss warnings were activated, but the ATR crew never declared an emergency situation before the plane spiraled into the ground.
Cenipa officials also said Friday that they still do not understand why an aircraft with all the necessary certifications ended up losing control and crashing. “What we know is that the plane was flying in an area with severe icing conditions,” said Lieutenant Colonel Paulo Froes.
The airline said in a statement that the report confirmed that the aircraft and pilots were duly certified and added that the systems required by the ATR were operational. It added that the company will continue to cooperate with the investigations.
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