By: Megan Wei

On August 9, 2024, a passenger plane carrying 62 people crashed near São Paulo, Brazil. The flight was operated by VoePass, an airline based in São Paulo that was previously known as Passaredo Linhas Aéreas. The aircraft departed from Cascavel, a municipality in Brazil at 11:46 a.m. Initially it was to head to Guarulhos Airport, which is just outside São Paulo.

Unexpectedly, the plane crashed not too far away from its destination. None of the 62 people survived the disaster. Luckily, the plane fortunately crashed into a yard, therefore it didn’t cause additional injuries. Locals filmed videos which aviation experts studied, showing an 89-ft plane swirling in the sky and then seconds later crashing into a yard.

According to officials supervising the flight, the plane’s transponder, a device that detects and responds to incoming signals, reported that it was plummeting down. Previously, the plane was at a cruising altitude of 17,000 ft until the collision. According to Flightradar24, their data showed that the descent rate was between 8,000 to 24,000 ft per minute.

The cause of the plane crash is still unclear, and it remains unknown. These types of incidents can take months or even years to uncover. Thomas Anthony, director of the Aviation Safety program at the University of Southern California said, “The main thing we know is that it’s never one thing,” according to The New York Times.

The investigation continues as people work to find out more about the catastrophe. While we are waiting for new updates, we hold the friends and families of the victims tightly in the light.