The same model of plane that crashed in Brazil last week has been involved in a slew of other air disasters in the past three decades — resulting in a total of nearly 500 deaths, records show.
One of the aircraft, an ATR 72 twin-engine, was being operated by the Brazilian airline Voepass when it suddenly went down en route to Sao Paulo on Friday, killing all 62 passengers and crew on board.
While investigators are still trying to piece together the cause of the latest tragedy, some aviation experts have already speculated that an ice buildup on the plane could be to blame — given the model’s history with such issues.
Crashes involving various types of the turboprop, which is generally used for relatively short-haul flights, have already been linked to 470 fatalities dating back to the 1990s, according to an Aviation Safety Network database — and several of the incidents were tied to icing issues.
“Fear is a very important emotion and feeling and frankly, on an ATR in icing, after seeing that accident, I frankly wouldn’t want to get in one either in icing,” said Mary Schiavo, an aviation safety expert, to Global News after analyzing footage of last week’s crash.
Schiavo, who was inspector general of the US Transportation Department in the ’90s, pointed specifically to a 1994 crash that saw an American Eagle ATR 72-200 go down in Indiana, killing all 68 people on board, likely after an ice buildup.
“I can tell you after the … report in the United States of America, where there was the terrible icing accident with the ATR, I wouldn’t fly ’em,” Schiavo said.
In the wake of the 1994 tragedy, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued some new operating procedures for ATRs and similar planes, warning pilots not to use autopilot in icing conditions.
ATR, the French-Italian plane manufacturer, also improved its de-icing system after the horror.
But another ATR-72 stalled out in 2016 in Norway when ice built up on the plane. The pilot in that incident was able to regain control of the aircraft.
Multiple aviation experts have suggested that an ice buildup could explain why the Brazilian aircraft appeared to stall in midair and then spiral toward the ground last week.
Voepass’ director of operations, Marcelo Moura, said last week that while there were forecasts for ice at the time the plane took off, they were within acceptable levels for the aircraft. The plane’s de-icing system, along with all other systems, had been deemed operational before takeoff, he added.
“Today, ice was predicted [at the altitudes the plane was flying at] but within the acceptable range,” Moura said at a press conference.
“But the plane is sensitive to ice, that could be a starting point,” he acknowledged as the probe into the crash got under way.
Brazilian air force officials who are probing the crash said it was too early to confirm if ice was the cause.
The plane is “certified in several countries to fly in severe icing conditions, including in countries unlike ours, where the impact of ice is more significant,” said Lt. Col. Carlos Henrique Baldi, who heads the air force’s center for the investigation and prevention of air accidents.
Manufacturer ATR said in a statement that it had been informed that the accident involved its ATR 72-500 model and that company specialists were “fully engaged to support both the investigation and the customer.”
With Post wires
