Aviation expert reveals reason for ‘death spiral’ crash that killed 61 as horror vid showed passenger plane’s plunge
THE fatal plane crash in Brazil was most likely caused by one of three terrifying reasons, an aviation expert claims.
Shocking footage showed the Voepass aircraft in an uncontrollable “death spiral” towards the ground on Friday before it exploded in a huge fireball next to a house – leaving at least 61 dead.
Experienced passenger jet pilot Captain Ross Aimer has revealed the chilling air disaster may have been caused by engine failure, flight control malfunction or due to part of the plane falling off mid-flight.
Aimer, who has over 40 years of experience flying passenger jets in the US, told DailyMail.com that any of these horrifying reasons can cause a pilot to lose control and spark chaos.
Terrifying video of Friday’s crash in Sao Paulo shows the plane falling from the sky spinning in circles.
This motion has been labelled as a death spiral due to the fatal consequences it often has.
Aimer added that once a jet begins to plummet into a death spiral it is “very hard to get out of it”.
The most likely reason for the issue may have been a low speed stall, the captain claims.
This occurs when the airflow going over a jet is too slow meaning the plane isn’t able lift up like it is supposed to.
It most commonly occurs when a plane is moving at a slow pace.
When the wing stalls it will often dip down to one side as the other wing lifts, causing the jet to rotate leading to the spiral.
If the engine is turned off or has failed and there is no power the pilot will be unable to stop the ill-fated plummet.
The possible causes for a slow-moving aircraft are a technical fault, extreme turbulence or pilot error.
Another reason is if a wing has been hit by something such as a bird – similar to the miracle Flight 1549 crash landing on the Hudson River in 2009.
But ATR-72 aircraft that crashed over Vinhedo was reportedly cruising at 17,000 feet meaning a bird smashing the wing is highly unlikely.
The tragic crash took place at around 1.25pm Brazilian time after the plane took off at midday from Cascavel, Parana.
After going into free fall, the plane plummeted towards the ground in a residential area of the city of Vinhedo, Sao Paulo state.
Locals rushed to the crash site to see the fiery wreckage burning and bodies lying amongst the debris.
Valinhos City Hall later confirmed all 61 on board were killed but no residents on the ground were injured or killed.
Airline Voepass Linhas Aéreas confirmed the plane took off with 61 people on board made up of four crew and 57 passengers.
They said: “The company regrets to inform that all 61 people on board flight 2283 died at the site.
“At this time, Voepass is prioritizing provision of unrestricted assistance to the victims families and effectively collaborating with authorities to determine the causes of the accident.
“Voepass has taken all measures to support those involved.
“There is still no confirmation of how the accident occurred or the current situation of the people on board.”
Firefighters, military police and the civil defense authority dispatched teams to the crash site in Vinhedo.
Local media reported the type of plane was a turboprop ATR-72-500, made by French manufacturer ATR.
Flight tracking site Flightradar24 said this particular plane was a 14-year-old model built in 2010.
Over 1,200 of the planes have been built since 1988 when it entered service.
The plane typically has a seating capacity of 72 passengers.
Brazilian Federal Police and the country’s aviation authority have opened investigations into the crash.
