Comments made by the pilots of the ill-fated Voepass aircraft moments before it crashed last Friday in southeastern Brazil, killing all 61 people on board, have been revealed by local media with access to the black box content.

According to the Brazilian TV channel TV Globo, the audio recording, which lasts about two hours, does not offer an immediate explanation for the tragic air crash. However, it makes clear that the two pilots noticed a sudden loss of altitude one minute before the crash, with the co-pilot anxiously asking, “What’s happening?” and adding, “We need more power.” In the final terrifying seconds, screams from the passengers on the aircraft are also recorded.

A regional turboprop plane crashed near Sao Paulo, Brazil, killing all 61 people on board. The plane’s black box, containing voice recordings and flight data, has been recovered from the site https://t.co/CUfsBf5mCP pic.twitter.com/znSaXga4xv

— Reuters (@Reuters) August 10, 2024

The aircraft was on a flight from Cascavel, in the state of Paraná (south), to Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo, on Friday, August 9. After a sudden loss of altitude, it crashed at 1:25 PM (local time; 7:25 PM Greek time) in Vinhialtu, a community of 76,000 residents about 80 kilometers northwest of São Paulo, causing fear among the inhabitants.

Shocking footage broadcast by Brazilian media shows the aircraft losing altitude rapidly, continuing to spin uncontrollably, followed by a column of thick smoke from the crash site in the neighborhood – where no ground casualties were reported.

According to the Brazilian Air Force, the flight “was proceeding smoothly until 1:20 PM” (local time; 7:20 PM Greek time). However, one minute later, the aircraft stopped “responding to calls” from the control tower, and the crew “did not declare an emergency situation nor did they report facing adverse weather conditions.”

The aircraft, manufactured by the Franco-Italian company ATR, was an ATR72-500 model. The manufacturer, a subsidiary of Airbus and Italy’s Leonardo, stated in a release that its experts would support “the ongoing investigation.”