Brazil's federal police on December 5 formally indicted 16 current and former employees of airline Voepass for actions contributing to the catastrophic plane crash in August 2024 that killed all 62 people on board.
According to the investigation results released at a press conference on December 5, the suspects face allegations of negligence, oversight failures, and dereliction of duty in aircraft operations and maintenance. Among those indicted is Jose Luiz Felicio Filho, owner and chairman of Voepass. Local prosecutors will decide at a later date whether to bring the case to court.
Police charged 15 current and former employees with endangering aviation safety leading to a deadly disaster, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 12 years. Some also face additional charges of concealing technical faults in aircraft maintenance logs.
The accident occurred when an ATR 72-500, en route from Cascavel in Parana state, southern Brazil, to Guarulhos International Airport, plunged into the backyard of a gated residential complex in Vinhedo, on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. All 58 passengers and 4 crew members were killed.
Investigators said the plane's flight data recorder showed the de-icing system repeatedly malfunctioned or was manually toggled on and off during 136 prior flights. Federal police investigator Andre Ribeiro stressed that the aircraft was cleared for takeoff under abnormal circumstances despite known severe icing conditions, while the de-icing system had failed on three earlier flights the same day.
Ribeiro called this a "turning point in aviation disasters" and recommended that prosecutors consider additional charges against Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) for its oversight role.
A lawyer representing the victims' families, Thalles Andrade, said he would seek damages "against all those responsible, whether individuals or organizations, including executives, and companies involved in operations and ticket sales." He said: "We will go after everyone who, by action or omission, contributed to this disaster."
The 16 indicted individuals have not commented on the federal police decision.
The investigation, concluded after two years, found that deliberate concealment, substandard maintenance procedures, and organizational failures within the airline directly led the aircraft into dangerous weather. A month earlier, Brazil's Air Force investigation had also confirmed a combination of severe icing conditions, mechanical system failure, and pilot distraction as causes of the accident.
