A leading aviation expert has revealed the most likely causes behind what caused a Brazilian passenger jet to enter a “death spiral” in a horrific crash today.
Dramatic video from the scene on Friday showed a Voepass airline plane falling from the sky as it plunged behind a group of trees near homes, followed by a huge plume of black smoke that killed all 62 people on board.
Captain Ross Aimer, who has more than 40 years’ experience flying passenger jets in the US, told DailyMail.com that the tragic plane could have experienced an engine failure, a flight control malfunction or if a critical part of the aircraft, such as a portion of the wing, fell off.
And once you enter the death spiral, “it’s very difficult to get out of it,” he said.
A leading aviation expert has revealed the most likely causes behind the ‘death spiral’ of a Brazilian passenger jet that killed all 62 passengers on board
The plane was heading from Cascavel to Guarulhos when it began its sudden descent.
Aimer said the most likely cause of the crash was that the plane suffered a low-speed stall, when the airflow over the wings is too slow to provide enough lift.
This happens when planes move too slowly. The three reasons this happens are a technical fault, extreme turbulence, pilot error, or something hitting the wing, such as a bird.
The infamous US Airways Flight 1549 crashed on landing in the Hudson River after a flock of birds struck its wing and knocked out all power shortly after takeoff, at about 700 feet.
The ATR-72 plane that crashed in Vinhedo, Brazil, was flying at 17,000 feet, the airline said.
At that point, it was unlikely to be a bird, which leaves only two other scenarios.
After the plane likely came to a stop, video showed it spinning in circles as it crashed to earth.
This is known as a death spiral or graveyard spin.
When the wing is stopped and tilted, and there is no power because the engine has been shut off, the plane can enter a spiral where one wing generates lift while the plane spins around the other until it falls to the ground.
This is not the first time that an ATR aircraft has been involved in a fatal accident.
In 1994, an ATR-72 crashed in the Atlas Mountains while climbing to 16,000 feet on a domestic flight in Morocco from Agadir to Casablanca. It was a pilot suicide and all on board were killed.
More recently, an ATR-42 crashed in 2017 after flying into severe icing conditions and losing control in Canada. All but one passenger survived.
Despite these incidents, Aimer told DailyMail.com that the ATR-72 is a relatively safe aircraft.
Dramatic video from the scene on Friday showed a Voepass plane falling from the sky as it plunged behind a group of trees near homes, followed by a large plume of black smoke.
The plane was heading from Cascavel to Guarulhos flying at 17,000 feet when it began its sudden descent.
Captain Ross Aimer, who has more than 40 years’ experience, told DailyMail.com that the tragic plane could have experienced an engine failure, a flight control malfunction or if a critical part of the aircraft, such as a part of the wing, fell off.
And these planes are not commonly used for commercial air travel in the United States, he said.
In the United States, “we’ve been very fortunate to have excellent training and an excellent safety record,” Aimer said.
“But we can never let our guard down. We need to improve a lot in terms of technology, security training and experience.”
The Brazilian Air Force said it had sent a team of investigators to the scene.
Speaking at an event in southern Brazil on Friday afternoon, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for a moment of silence for those lost in the crash.