Ice buildup a possible cause of devastating plane crash in Brazil: Experts

A deadly plane crash in Brazil last Friday was likely caused by icing on the exterior, according to experts.

Nearly 90 minutes after Voepass Flight 2283 departed Cascavel, Brazil, the ATR 72-500 turboprop plane crashed in a residential area near Sao Paolo, Brazil, killing all 62 people on board. Video showed the plane quickly descending and moving in a circular motion before crashing.

In-flight icing is “perhaps the leading theory,” former National Transportation Safety Board Co-Chairman Bruce Landsberg told CNN. The crash resembles a 1994 crash in Roselawn, Indiana, that killed all 68 people on board and was caused by severe in-flight icing.

Icing on aircraft occurs when either the air temperature is at or below zero degrees Fahrenheit or when supercooled water droplets, ranging from zero degrees to 20 degrees below zero, strike the wings of an aircraft and spread. Icing conditions are nearly always dangerous and should be avoided if possible.

Following the 1994 incident, the Federal Aviation Administration mandated that the manufacturer of the plane, ATR, modify and improve its deicing system, which it did. However, in 2016, an ATR 72 in Norway encountered problems with icing, though the pilot was able to regain control of the plane.

ATR’s aircraft in the incidents, the ATR 72, uses deicing “boots” to break down ice on the wings of the plane, as opposed to jet airliners that use heat from the engine to do so. Notably, no major airlines in the United States use the ATR 72, which is more likely to be used on international flights.

Still, there is no obvious cause of the crash, with Landsberg cautioning against coming to a quick conclusion.

“Aviation safety doesn’t lend itself to quick answers,” he said.