Pilot's chilling question before doomed flight crashed and killed all 62 on board

Daily Record

09-07-2025

Horrifying transcripts from the black box of a plane that crashed in Brazil last August have revealed the last words of the pilot and co-pilot on board
A pilot's chilling message was the final transmission from a plane before it nosedived, emitting black smoke and claiming the lives of all 62 people on board.
The commercial aircraft met its tragic end in Brazil last August, with the black box recording revealing the harrowing last exchanges between the pilot and co-pilot. The ill-fated Voepass Airlines flight was captained by Danilo Santos Romano, with Humberto de Campos Alencar e Silva as his co-pilot, who were among the first to be identified.
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Humberto posed the haunting question to Danilo, "What's going on?".
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He also mentioned the aircraft required "more power", as reported by the local broadcaster Globo. The Brazilian aviation accident investigation agency, Cenipa, refrained from commenting on the contents of TV Globo's report.
The plane, an ATR-72 turboprop, was en route to Sao Paulo from Cascavel, in Parana state, when it crashed at approximately 1.30pm local time near the town of Vinhedo, reports the Mirror US.
The aircraft was observed spiralling uncontrollably before crashing into trees and unleashing a thick column of black smoke skywards. Additionally, it emerged that there was a mysterious passenger on board whose presence had not been accounted for.
Initially, Voepass reported the aircraft had 57 passengers and four crew members, but later confirmed there was another passenger unaccounted for, raising the death toll to 62. It remains unclear how this individual was overlooked on the flight manifest.
Weather experts reported severe icing conditions in Sao Paulo state around the time of the crash. The aircraft was operating normally until 1.21pm when it ceased responding to calls and radar contact was lost at 1.22pm, according to a statement from Brazil's air force.
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The plane did not declare any emergency.
Brazilian aviation engineer and crash investigator Celso Faria de Souza expressed near certainty that ice was the cause of the accident. ATR-72 planes have had previous issues with icing, including a crash in Indiana in 1994 which resulted in 68 fatalities, after the plane was unable to bank due to ice buildup.
Following that incident, manufacturer ATR enhanced its de-icing system. In 2016, an ATR-72 in Norway encountered problems after ice accumulated on the plane, but the pilot managed to regain control.
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Firefighter Maycon Cristo explained that authorities used seat assignments, physical characteristics, documents and personal belongings such as mobile phones to identify the victims.
The youngest passenger who perished in the crash was three year old Liz Ibba dos Santos, who was travelling with her father. Josgleidys Gonzalez, 29, her four year old son Joslan, her mother Maria Gladys Parra, and their six-month-old dog Luna also tragically died on Voepass Flight 2283.
Sao Paulo's morgue received the bodies and heartbreakingly had to request victims' relatives to provide medical, X-ray and dental records to assist in identifying the bodies. Blood tests were also conducted to aid identification efforts.
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Four academics at Unioeste university in western Paraná were confirmed amongst the fatalities. Eight cancer specialists were also amongst those on board.
Six prominent oncologists and two trainee medics, in their final year of study, were travelling from their home city of Cascavel to a cancer conference in São Paulo when the twin-engine turboprop ATR 72-500 VoePass Airline flight went down on Friday.
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Eduardo Baptistella of the Regional Medical Council stated: "Unfortunately we received very sad news and were able to confirm the death of eight doctors. The doctors were going to an oncology conference. These were people who dedicated their lives to saving others."
Some of the medics included radiologist Leonel Ferreira, paediatric cancer specialist Sarah Stella and Silvia Osaki. Baptistella revealed 15 doctors had been booked to take the flight but seven had caught an earlier aircraft.
One of the physicians was Arianne Risso, who worked tirelessly each day to help her patients fight cancer. Risso's cousin, Stephany Albuquerque, said even as a youngster she aspired to become a doctor and when she matured she devoted herself to studying so intensively she seldom ventured outside.
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Risso cared for people who were terminally ill and "did everything with a lot of love," Albuquerque told AP by phone from Florida, where she now lives. "She wasn't the kind of doctor who would the tell the patient, 'this is your illness, take this.' No, Arianne took care of people. ... She would give out her personal phone number to patients."
Risso, 34, was travelling alongside her colleague Mariana Belim, 31. Both had been undertaking residencies at Cascavel's cancer hospital, with the institution issuing a statement highlighting their dedication, compassion and professionalism towards patients.
"It's no wonder that praise for them both would often reach us. Their love of the profession was very clear," the hospital said.
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Willian Rodrigo Feistler, a GP who was raised in Cascavel, lost six acquaintances in the tragedy and shared a particularly close bond with Belim, having studied together and maintained their friendship for 15 years. "Mariana was serene with a melancholic temperament, but very intelligent, empathetic and devoted to her profession," Feistler said by phone from Cascavel.
"She dedicated much of her life to studies and medical training. She had already specialized in clinical medicine and was completing her specialization in clinical oncology", he added.
José Roberto Leonel Ferreira, a recently retired doctor who also died, was one of Feistler's teachers during his undergraduate studies. He had a radiology clinic in Cascavel.
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"I went over cases with him on several occasions. He was a receptive person who helped other doctors in the discussion of cases to reach diagnoses," Feistler said. Brazil's Federal Council of Medicine said the loss of the doctors left Brazil's medical world in mourning, expressing solidarity for the victims' friends and relatives.
Following the emergence of footage showing the horrific plane crash, numerous individuals came forward claiming they were meant to be aboard the aircraft and could have perished had they not missed their flight.
Adriano Assis had completed his hospital shift and was running behind schedule to catch the 11.56am departure from Cascavel Regional Airport in Cascavel, Paraná to São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo.
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Assis told Brazilian news outlet G1 that he arrived at the counter at 9.40am and observed there were no staff present.
He remained in the vicinity and enjoyed a coffee whilst repeatedly checking the departure and arrival board for any updates regarding flight 2283.
"When I decided it was already 10.30am, there was a huge line here", he said. "I waited until it was 10.40am or so. The guy said I wouldn't be boarding anymore because it was an hour before boarding."
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Assis desperately implored the agent to let him board his return flight to São Paulo, but fortunately, his request was denied.
"At that moment, I argued with him and stuff, and that was it, and he saved my life, man," he expressed. "He did his job because... if he hadn't done it... maybe I wouldn't be in this interview today, sorry."
Another man explained how he and three mates missed their flight as they were waiting at the incorrect gate along with 10 other passengers. "When it was 11 o'clock, I came looking here. When I looked I said, 'Man, you're not getting on that plane anymore'," he recounted.
In a last-ditch effort, he attempted to convince one of the gate staff to let him on the flight. "I said, 'Girl, put me on this plane, I have to go, I have to go'," he pleaded.
She responded, "No ...What I can do for you is reschedule your flight.' So, she rescheduled it for 6.20pm."