Crash plane denied chance for landing
Pilot’s call overheard
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 which 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 communicated with the airport that it needed to land as a preventive 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.
The investigation to determine the cause of the crash was still underway Wednesday.
Aerocivil, the Colombian civil aviation authority, confirmed that it had recovered the plane’s black boxes.
Alfredo Bocanegra, director of Aerocivil, said a lack of fuel was “most probably what caused this tragedy” but said nothing had been confirmed.