In a press conference, CENIPA explains the Initial Action following the accident
By Lieutenant Eniele, Lieutenant Mônica And Lieutenant Eniele Santos
The Brazilian Air Force (FAB), through the Center for the Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA), has begun investigating the plane crash that occurred early Friday afternoon (08/09) in Vinhedo (SP). Investigators from CENIPA and the Fourth Regional Service for the Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (SERIPA IV), a regional body based in São Paulo, are at the scene to carry out the Initial Action into the incident.
The Head of CENIPA, Air Brigadier Marcelo Moreno, together with the Directors of the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) – Luiz Ricardo de Souza Nascimento and Ricardo Catanant – took part in a press conference in Brasília (DF) and gave details of the crash of the aircraft registered PS-VPB, belonging to the VoePass company.
During the press conference, Air Brigadier Marcelo Moreno explained that an aircraft accident is a catastrophic and undesirable event for society. And, in the event of cases like this, the Brazilian state has two major responsibilities: the judicial investigation, which must follow all the legal procedures laid down in our legal system, and the aeronautical investigation, which is conducted today by CENIPA, whose aim is to provide safety for society in air transportation, preventing similar accidents from happening again.
“First of all, on behalf of the Brazilian Air Force, the CENIPA investigators and the National Civil Aviation Agency, I would like to pay our deep respect and condolences to all the families who lost their loved ones or had their lives changed by this tragic event. We work with contributing factors in order to issue flight safety recommendations. Our investigation is non-punitive, working on the principle of maximum preventive effectiveness, which means doing prevention with the minimum degree of insecurity. It is therefore important to make it clear that, unlike a judicial investigation, CENIPA’s investigation only aims to deliver safety to society,” he said.
In addition, the Brigadier emphasized that the process of investigating an aircraft accident is complex and involves several stages, including data analysis, interviews with crew members and assessment of the weather conditions at the time of the accident. “Flight safety is our top priority. The investigation will be conducted with technical rigor, seeking not only to identify the causes of the accident, but also to provide recommendations that can prevent future similar occurrences,” he said.
The investigation
So far, the information to be released about the crash of the ATR-72 aircraft is that it took off from Cascavel, in Paraná, bound for Guarulhos (SP). On board were 57 passengers and 4 crew members, totaling 61 people, and at around 1pm (Brasília time) it crashed in the interior of São Paulo.
CENIPA is already in possession of the two black boxes, the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR), but the deadline for determining the circumstances that caused the crash depends on the degree of destruction of the recorders. According to Air Brigadier Moreno, this analysis will be carried out as quickly as possible, since there is still no set deadline for the conclusion of the investigation, as each case has its own particularities and may require different analysis times.
The head of CENIPA asked the public and the press for patience and understanding, stressing that preliminary information will not be released until the data has been consolidated and verified. The FAB and CENIPA reinforced their commitment to maintaining transparency throughout the investigative process and to collaborating with the competent authorities to clarify the circumstances of the aircraft crash.
SIPAER Panel
Developed by CENIPA, the SIPAER Panel is an online platform that provides access to data on occurrences in Brazilian civil aviation. It also presents information in graphs and tables, which can be modified by users according to the search filters applied. It also makes it possible to view the history of aviation incidents over the last ten years via the “Panorama” menu and consult the Safety Recommendations already issued by the Center. Users can also follow the progress of an investigation by entering the aircraft registration number, date or state in “Occurrences”. For this and other information, visit the SIPAER Panel on the CENIPA website or click on the link: https://painelsipaer.cenipa.fab.mil.br.