SAO PAULO (AP) 鈥� Brazil’s federal police on Thursday formally accused 16 current and former employees of airline Voepass for the Aug. 9, 2024 crash that killed . Investigators named several acts of alleged malpractice, omission and negligence by the company.
Voepass owner and president Jos茅 Luiz Felicio Filho was among those formally accused in the accident that took place in the city of Vinhedo, outside Sao Paulo. Local prosecutors must still decide whether he and the other accused will be charged at a date to be determined.
Brazil’s federal police also accused 15 Voepass former and present employees of endangering air traffic safety resulting in a fatal disaster, which could put them in prison for up to 12 years. Additional charges against some of the group include the omission of technical failures from aircraft logbooks.
The accident took happened when an ATR 72-500 twin-engine turboprop en route from Cascavel, in the southern state of Paran谩, to Guarulhos international airport plummeted 13,000 feet into the backyard of a gated condominium, killing 58 passengers and
Investigators added that the aircraft鈥檚 data recorders showed its de-icing system repeatedly failed or was manually cycled on and off during 136 flights.
Federal police investigator Andr茅 Ribeiro said the aircraft was irregularly cleared for departure into known severe icing conditions despite experiencing de-icing system failures on three prior flights that same day.
鈥淭his is a watershed in air crash disasters here,鈥� said Ribeiro, who also suggested prosecutors should look into new potential accusations against Brazil’s government’s aviation agency ANAC.
Thalles Andrade, a lawyer for the families of the victims, said in a statement he will seek damages 鈥渁gainst every one responsible, people and companies, including directors, companies involved in the operation and in ticket sales.鈥�
鈥淲e will go for everyone who, by action or omission, contributed to this,鈥� Andrade said.
The 16 people formally accused in the case did not make comments about the federal police move.
The federal police findings were announced in a press conference after a two-year investigation. The force concluded that deliberate omissions, improper maintenance practices, and organizational failures directly contributed to sending the aircraft into dangerous weather conditions.
Last month, a Brazilian air force probe confirmed that a combination of , as well as mechanical system failures and pilot distractions, contributed to the country鈥檚 most deadly air crash since 2007.
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