CRASH PLANE DENIED CHANCE TO LAND

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA • The plane carrying a Brazilian soccer team crashed after it was denied the opportunity to land because another plane had already started an emergency descent, according to a leaked audio message that described the flight’s terrifying last moments.

The short-haul aircraft, operated by charter airline LaMia, was carrying the Chapecoense team to Medellin, where it was to play Atletico Nacional in the Sudamerica Cup final.

But the plane never reached its destination. It crashed in Colombia’s Antioquia department Monday night, killing 71 and leaving just six survivors, including three members of the team.

It was learned Wednesday that when the plane ran into trouble, another aircraft had already informed the airport that it needed to land as a preventative measure.

VivaColombia flight FC8170 requested to land at Jose Maria Cordova International airport because of a fault in the cabin.

The VivaColombia flight had begun its descent when the plane carrying the Brazilian football team called for an emergency landing.

A leaked audio message sent by Juan Sebastian Upegui, a co-pilot from airline Avianca — which was in the sky at the same time — detailed the terrifying final moments of the LaMia aircraft, before it plunged into the Andes.

The Avianca aircraft was also waiting to land when crew in the cockpit overheard an exchange between the LaMia plane and the control tower.

“We request priority to proceed to the runway, we request priority to proceed to the locator. We have fuel problems,” LaMia pilot Miguel Quiroga told the control tower, according to Upegui.

The plane was unable to move to the runway because of passenger airline VivaColombia’s difficulties.

After the charter plane had fallen to 9,000 feet, Upegui described how Quiroga, who lost his own father to a plane crash when he was a baby, was begging for assistance. “Now we have a total electric failure, we have a total electric failure,” the pilot said. “Help — we need vectors to approach the runway.”

Upegui said he sat in the cockpit of the Avianca plane willing Quiroga’s jet to make it. “I was saying ‘Do it, do it — land,’ ” Upegui said in the audio clip. Upegui said the crew in the LaMia plane made one final plea before falling silent. The Avianca co-pilot said the air traffic controller’s voice broke and the crew of the Avianca plane began to cry.

The crash left Latin America in shock. As a gesture of solidarity with Brazil and the families of the victims, Atletico Nacional wrote to tournament organizers to concede the match, which was to be played Wednesday night, making Chapecoense the champion of the Sudamerica Cup.

Atletico Nacional, along with Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez, declared that a vigil be held instead of the match at Medellin’s Atanasio Girardot Stadium. Those attending were urged to wear white instead of football colours.

Alfredo Bocanegra, director of Aerocivil, the Colombian civil aviation authority, said a lack of fuel was “most probably what caused this tragedy” but said nothing had been confirmed.

One survivor, Bolivian flight technician Erwin Tumiri, said he was saved because of his strict adherence to security procedure, while others panicked.

“Many passengers got up from their seats and started yelling,” he said. “I put the bag between my legs and went into the fetal position as recommended.”

Bolivian flight attendant Ximena Suarez, another survivor, said the lights went out less than a minute before the plane slammed into the mountain.

Of the players, goalkeeper Jackson Follmann was recovering from the amputation of his right leg, doctors said. Another player, defender Helio Neto, remained in intensive care with severe trauma to his skull, thorax and lungs.

BUDA MENDES / GETTY IMAGES A fan cries while paying tribute Wednesday to the players of Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense Real in Chapeco, Brazil. The players were killed in a plane crash Tuesday in the mountains of Colombia that took 71 lives.