By: Henry Chen

On August 9, 2024, VoePass Flight 2283 crashed near its destination due to stalling, or severe loss of speed. Related incidents involving the same type of aircraft have happened.

Shortly before landing, VoePass Flight 2283 spiraled downwards, crashing next to a house. All 62 passengers and crew members died before aid arrived. Journalists Jack Nicas and Ana Ionova stated in a New York Times article, “But to aviation experts around the world who watched the videos showing the 89-foot plane spinning slowly as it plummeted before crashing almost directly on its belly, the question of what had happened was simple to answer: The plane had stalled.” After investigation, the reason for the crash was determined to be stalling from heavy icing. American Eagle Flight 4184 ended in the same way. Even though there are de-icing tools, whether the pilots actually used them is still a mystery. When the results from the plane’s black box, or data recorder, are distributed, we will know. After the American Eagle crash, ATR started investigating but found nothing wrong with the de-icing system, so they improved the mechanics without a particular aim. After recent crashes, such as TransAsia Flight 235 and Yeti Airlines Flight 691, which were both caused by pilot error, this crash might also be pilot error, where they forgot to turn on the de-icing feature.

More than 40 families were involved in this crash, resulting in many people mourning. The investigation after the crash is still ongoing, and people helping are trying to make the outcome have more quality than more speed, according to the New York Times.

VoePass crashed near a house shortly before landing, showing how even the fastest way of travel can be unsafe. Even though technology is grand and AI represents the best of us, people are still dying due to our inventions. If there is a future where there are fewer naturally caused accidents, the world will be immensely better.