Plane carrying footballers from Brazil crashes in Colombia

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Plane carrying soccer team from Brazil crashes in Colombia 
JOSHUA GOODMAN, Associated Press

 

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A chartered aircraft with 81 people on board, including a Brazilian first division soccer team heading to Colombia for a regional tournament final, has crashed on its way to Medellin's international airport.

 

Aviation authorities said there are reports of at least six survivors.

 

"It's a tragedy of huge proportions," Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez told Blu Radio on his way to the site in a mountainous area outside the city where aircraft crashed.

 

Aviation authorities said the British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane, operated by a Bolivian charter airline named Lamia, declared an emergency at 10 p.m. Monday (0300 GMT) due to an electrical failure.

 

Authorities and rescuers were immediately activated but an air force helicopter had to turn back because of low visibility. They urged journalists to stay away from the hard-to-access zone and stay off the roads to facilitate the entry of ambulances and rescuers. The area has been hit by heavy rains in recent days.

 

An ambulance transporting a male passenger with oxygen and covered in a blanket arrived on a stretcher to a local hospital, Blu Radio reported. He was apparently alive.

 

The aircraft, which made a stop in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was transporting the first division Chapecoense soccer team from southern Brazil. The team was scheduled to play Wednesday in the first of a two-game Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional of Medellin.

 

The plane was carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members, aviation authorities said in a statement. Local radio said the same aircraft transported Argentina's national squad for a match earlier this month in Brazil, and previously had transported Venezuela's national team.

 

A video published on the team's Facebook page showed the team readying for the flight earlier Monday in Sao Paulo's Guarulhos international airport.

 

The team, from the small city of Chapeco, was in the middle of a fairy tale season. It joined Brazil's first division in 2014 for the first time since the 1970s and made it last week to the Copa Sudamericana finals — the equivalent of the UEFA Europa League tournament — after defeating Argentina's San Lorenzo squad.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-11-29

[bark]

Sad for all concerned.

[webfact]

MEDELLIN, Colombia (AP) — At least 3 survivors in Colombia plane crash in which Brazilian soccer team players were onboard, Medellin mayor says.

[webfact]

MEDELLIN, Colombia (AP) - CORRECTS: Local mayor: At least 3 survivors in Colombia plane crash in which Brazilian soccer team players were onboard. (Corrects APNewsAlert that said Medellin mayor provided the information. The mayor of the nearby La Ceja municipality gave the information. )

[webfact]

Brazilian soccer club issues brief statement 

 

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The Latest on the Colombia plane crash involving members of a Brazilian soccer team (all times local):

 

2:55 a.m.

Brazilian first division soccer club Chapecoense has issued a brief statement after the plane carrying the team crashed in Colombia.

 

In a statement on its Facebook page, Chapecoense said "may God accompany our athletes, officials, journalists and other guests traveling with our delegation."

 

The team said it would refrain from any further statements until it had fully evaluated the extent of the crash.

 

A chartered aircraft with 81 people on board, including the Chapecoense team which was heading to Colombia for a regional tournament final, crashed on its way to Medellin's international airport.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-11-29

[webfact]

Survivors reported after plane carrying 81 crashes in Colombia

 

 

BOGOTA: -- A plane carrying 81 people, including a Brazilian football team, has crashed in a mountainous region of central Colombia.

 

An official said at least six people survived and the country’s civil aviation association said rescuers are moving them from the site near Medellin, where the charter aircraft was scheduled to land.

 

The cause of the crash, at around 10pm local time, is unclear.

 

Poor weather has made the crash site difficult to reach and rescuers are having to make the journey by road, authorities say.

 

Brazil’s Chapecoense football team were among the 72 passengers and nine crew members on board. Defender Alan Ruschel and goalkeeper Marcos Danilo are said to be two of the survivors.

 

 

“It’s a tragedy of huge proportions,” Medellin’s Mayor Federico Gutierrez told Blu Radio on his way to the site.

 

Medellin’s airport confirmed that the aircraft, which departed from Bolivia, was transporting the Chapecoense football team from southern Brazil. They were scheduled to play in the Copa Sudamerica finals against Atletico Nacional on Wednesday (November 30) in Medellin.

 

The final has been suspended.

 

What we know so far:

 

A plane carrying 81 people including crew took off from Santa Cruz, Bolivia at 22:18 UTC flying to Medellin, Colombia. The plane was operated by LAMIA Bolivia and was a British Aerospace Avro RJ85, reg. CP-2933. The aircraft first flew in 1999.

 

At 02:55 UTC time flight tracking data lost the plane's signal. It was also carrying Brazilian football team Chapecoense, who were due to play against Atletico Nacional from Colombia in the final of the South American Cup.

 

Tournament Conmebol has suspended all of its activities in light of the plane crash.

 

So far, only three of the 81 people on board have been confirmed alive.

 

They are: Goalie Marcos Danilo, Defender Alan Ruschel and flight stewardess Ximena Suárez.

 

The exact cause of the plane crash has not officially been determined. Elkin Ospina, the mayor of the town La Ceja, located not far from the crash site, told French news agency AFP the plane crashed because it had run out of fuel.

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-11-29

 

[webfact]

 

[englishinsiam]

Rip and our thoughts go out to all the families.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[thai006]

really sad storry   rip

[Thunder26]

That is why I hate planes! They keep feeding us it is the safest way of traveling. In reality it is not! Tell this to the families of the deceased!

https://youtu.be/6VCMMB09ByA

 

 

[mcfish]

That is why I hate planes! They keep feeding us it is the safest way of traveling. In reality it is not! Tell this to the families of the deceased!

   

If you had any idea how many planes were in the sky this very second around the globe you're jaw would drop. It's by far even light years distance the safest way to travel. It's fact the deadliest part of a pilots job is his drive to the airport

Let's hope at least the survivors are not completely mangled.

RIP guys, their club, management, coaches completely wiped out

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[Grouse]

No clear causes for the accident.

 

Maybe out of fuel due to range of the aircraft. Could also be reason for the reported electrical faults.

 

Tragic.....

[Farma]

An early report i heard said the plane  reported electrical failure. The weather was bad at the time too.

[mcfish]

They must have carried fuel for an alternate airport, that's normal procedure so why didn't they go there? There was no fire so must be a fuel issue.. It has happened once before in much larger jet where the fuel truck loaded the wrong conversion rate and the jet lost its engines and increably the pilot landed her safely by gliding alone. It's possible it may have happened again.. Pure speculation

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[Xircal]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

The exact cause of the plane crash has not officially been determined.

 

Looking at the picture of the crashed plane my guess is that it ran out of fuel. The evidence for that is the lack of scorch marks both on the wreckage and to the surrounding terrain.

 

According to JacDec, the distance from the departure airport to Medelin exceeds the maximum distance the aircraft, an Avro RJ85 is rated for. http://www.jacdec.de/2016/11/29/2016-11-28-lamia-avro-rj-85-crashed-near-medellin-with-81-on-board/

 

[mcfish]

 
Looking at the picture of the crashed plane my guess is that it ran out of fuel. The evidence for that is the lack of scorch marks both on the wreckage and to the surrounding terrain.
 
According to JacDec, the distance from the departure airport to Medelin exceeds the maximum distance the aircraft, an Avro RJ85 is rated for. http://www.jacdec.de/2016/11/29/2016-11-28-lamia-avro-rj-85-crashed-near-medellin-with-81-on-board/
 

Excellent article. Is it possible the captain took off in giant leap of faith maybe trusting a prevailing tailwind to make the range and no fuel for diversion? That's just unheard of. Watching this one closely

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[Grouse]

The 146 has 4 engines.

 

1 and 4, the outer ones, power the two generators. There is also an APU in the tail and also an auxiliary generator and then batteries.

 

Some electrical systems are disconnected on APU and further systems when on auxiliary.

 

Range 2,130km. So, IMHO, looks like out of fuel!!

 

May have had extra fuel tanks but doubtful.

 

Somebody may have made a huge, tragic error ?

 

We'll know soon enough!

Edited November 29, 2016 by Grouse

[Stargeezr]

I heard on the news that there were 6 people who survived this tragic

crash.  If the plane ran out of fuel, this is another crash that

could have been prevented.

Geezer

[Basil B]

Brings back memories of Munich 1958...

Man United was fortunate with the generosity of other teams who loaned them players or let players transfer for free. 

 

RIP those who perished...

[Prbkk]

2 hours ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

I heard on the news that there were 6 people who survived this tragic

crash.  If the plane ran out of fuel, this is another crash that

could have been prevented.

Geezer

 

Some reports that the pilot dumped fuel prior to the crash...maybe just speculation as it wouldn't be on an emergency checklist.

The Facebook video posted during the flight from the plane is chilling: 2 guys sitting together, both survive but one is critically injured. He makes a final call to his wife from hospital and then dies.

Yes, some reminders of MU Munich '58 and also of the rugby team crash in The Andes in the early 70s

[Grouse]

45 minutes ago, Prbkk said:

 

Some reports that the pilot dumped fuel prior to the crash...maybe just speculation as it wouldn't be on an emergency checklist.

The Facebook video posted during the flight from the plane is chilling: 2 guys sitting together, both survive but one is critically injured. He makes a final call to his wife from hospital and then dies.

Yes, some reminders of MU Munich '58 and also of the rugby team crash in The Andes in the early 70s

 

Can not dump fuel on this type...

[bandito]

6 hours ago, mcfish said:

If you had any idea how many planes were in the sky this very second around the globe you're jaw would drop. It's by far even light years distance the safest way to travel. It's fact the deadliest part of a pilots job is his drive to the airport

Let's hope at least the survivors are not completely mangled.

RIP guys, their club, management, coaches completely wiped out

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

 

You're brainwashed in a false feeling of safety.

I personally experienced a fire in the plane I was a passenger in.

Also an emercency landing and countless times I had to change planes, at some airport, because of some technical fault or other.

Have a look at this site: www.airsafe.com, there are more sites like this.

[webfact]

At least 71 killed as plane carrying Brazilian football club crashes in Colombia

 

 

BOGOTA: -- A chartered plane carrying Brazilian football team Chapecoense to the Copa Sudamericana final crashed in the Colombian mountains, killing at least 71 of the 77 people on board.

 

Local media said the plane had reported an electrical fault shortly before it disappeared off radar screens although investigators are also looking into an account from one of the survivors that the chartered jet ran out of fuel about five minutes from its expected landing at Jose Maria Cordova airport outside Medellin.

 

“In these types of investigations, we can’t discard other causes,” said the head of Colombia’s civil aviation agency, Alfredo Bocanegra. “The testimony from the survivors will be valuable and the fact that this tragic accident occurred nearby will enable us to carry out a thorough investigation.”

 

At least six people, including three players – Alan Ruschel, Jakson Follman and Zampier Neto – survived the crash. The club’s main goalkeeper, Marcos Padilha aka Danilo, was also pulled alive from the wreckage but a spokesman said he later died in hospital.

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-11-30

 

 

[webfact]

Brazilian soccer team's plane crashes in Colombia; 71 dead

By FERNANDO VERGARA and JOSHUA GOODMAN

 

LA UNION, Colombia (AP) — Colombian authorities searched for answers Tuesday into the crash of a chartered airliner that slammed into the Andes mountains while transporting a Brazilian soccer team whose Cinderella story had won it a spot in the finals of one of South America's most prestigious regional tournaments. All but six of the 77 people on board were killed.

 

The British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane declared an emergency and lost radar contact just before 10 p.m. Monday (0300 GMT Tuesday), according to Colombia's aviation agency. It said the plane's black boxes had been recovered and were being analyzed.

 

The aircraft, which departed from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was carrying the Chapecoense soccer team from southern Brazil for Wednesday's first leg of the two-game Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional of Medellin. Twenty-one Brazilian journalists were also on board the flight.

 

Colombian officials initially said the plane suffered an electrical failure but there was also heavy rainfall at the time of the crash. Authorities also said they were not ruling out the possibility, relayed to rescuers by a surviving flight attendant, that the plane ran out of fuel minutes before its scheduled landing at Jose Maria Cordova airport outside Medellin.

 

Whatever the cause, the emotional pain of Colombia's deadliest air tragedy in two decades was felt across the soccer world.

 

Expressions of grief poured in as South America's federation canceled all scheduled matches in a show of solidarity, Real Madrid's squad interrupted its training for a minute of silence and Argentine legend Diego Maradona sent his condolences to the victims' families over Facebook.

 

Brazil's top teams offered to loan the small club players next season so they can rebuild following the sudden end to a fairy tale season that saw Chapecoense reach the tournament final just two years after making it into the first division for the first time since the 1970s. "It is the minimum gesture of solidarity that is within our reach," the teams said in a statement.

 

Sportsmanship also prevailed, with Atletico Nacional asking that the championship title be given to its rival, whose upstart run had electrified soccer-crazed Brazil.

 

Rescuers working through the night were initially heartened after pulling three people alive from the wreckage. But as the hours passed, heavy fog and stormy weather grounded helicopters and slowed efforts to reach the crash site.

 

At daybreak, dozens of bodies scattered across a muddy mountainside were collected into white bags. They were then loaded onto several Black Hawk helicopters that had to perform a tricky maneuver to land on the crest of the Andes mountains. The plane's fuselage appeared to have broken into two, with the nose facing downward into a steep valley.

 

Officials initially reported 81 people were on board the flight, but later revised that to 77, saying four people on the flight manifest did not get on the plane.

 

Images broadcast on local television showed three of the six survivors on stretchers and connected to IVs arriving at a hospital in ambulances. Chapecoense defender Alan Ruschel was in the most serious condition, and was later transported to another facility to undergo surgery for a spinal fracture. Teammates Helio Zampier and Jakson Follmann also suffered multiple trauma injuries, with doctors having to amputate the goalkeeper Follmann's right leg.

 

A journalist traveling with the team was recovering from surgery and two Bolivian crew members were in stable condition, hospital officials said.

 

The aircraft is owned by LaMia, a charter company that started off in Venezuela but later relocated to Bolivia, where it was certified to operate last January. Despite such apparently limited experience the airline has a close relationship with several premier South American squads.

 

Earlier this month, the plane involved in Monday's crash transported Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and the Argentina national team from Brazil following a World Cup qualifier match. The airliner also appears to have transported the national squads of Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela over the last three months, according to a log of recent activity provided by Flightradar24.com.

 

Before being taken offline, LaMia's website said it operated three 146 Avro short-haul jets made by British Aerospace, with a maximum range of around 2,965 kilometers (1,600 nautical miles) — about the same as the distance between Santa Cruz and Medellin..

 

Hans Weber, a longtime adviser to U.S. aviation authorities, said the aircraft's range deserves careful investigation. He noted that the air distance between cities is usually measured by the shortest route but planes rarely fly in a straight line — pilots may steer around turbulence or change course for other reasons.

 

Given the model of the plane and that it was flying close to capacity, "I would be concerned that the pilots may have been cutting it too close," Weber said.

 

Bolivia's civil aviation agency said the aircraft picked up the Brazilian team in Santa Cruz, where the players had arrived on a commercial flight from Sao Paulo. Spokesman Cesar Torrico said the plane underwent an inspection before departing for Colombia and reported no problems.

 

"We can't rule out anything. The investigation is ongoing and we're going to await the results," said Gustavo Vargas, a retired Bolivian air force general who is president of the airline.

 

Colombian authorities said they hope to interview the Bolivian flight attendant who relayed the fuel concerns on Wednesday.

 

Moments before the flight departed, the team's coaching staff gave an interview to a Bolivian television station in which they praised the airline, saying it brought them good fortune when it flew them to Colombia last month for the championship's quarterfinals, which they won.

 

"Now we're going to do this new trip and we hope they bring us good luck like they did the first time," athletic director Mauro Stumpf told the Gigavision TV network.

 

The team, from the small Brazilian agro-industrial city of Chapeco, was in the midst of a breakout season. It advanced last week to the Copa Sudamericana finals after defeating some of the region's top teams, including Argentina's San Lorenzo and Independiente, as well as Colombia's Junior.

 

The team is so modest that tournament organizers ruled that its 22,000-seat arena was too small to host the final match, which was moved to a stadium 300 miles (480 kilometers) to the north, in the city of Curitiba.

 

The team won over fans across Brazil with its spectacular run to the finals, with some even taking up a campaign online to move the final match to Rio de Janeiro's iconic Maracana stadium, where the 2014 World Cup finals were played.

 

The tragedy of so many young and talented players' lives and dreams cut short brought an outpouring of support far beyond Brazil's borders. Atletico Nacional said in a statement it was offering its title to the team, saying the accident "leaves an indelible mark on the history of Latin American and world soccer."

 

Closer to home, fans mourned the terrible loss.

 

"This morning I said goodbye to them and they told me they were going after the dream, turning that dream into reality," Chapecoense board member Plinio De Nes told Brazil's TV Globo. "The dream was over early this morning."

___

Goodman reported from Bogota. Associated Press writers Mauricio Savarese and Stephen Wade in Chapeco, Brazil; Renata Brito in Rio de Janeiro; Carlos Valdez in La Paz, Bolivia; Luis Henao in Buenos Aires and David Koenig in Dallas contributed to this report.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-11-30

[mcfish]

 
You're brainwashed in a false feeling of safety.
I personally experienced a fire in the plane I was a passenger in.
Also an emercency landing and countless times I had to change planes, at some airport, because of some technical fault or other.
Have a look at this site: www.airsafe.com, there are more sites like this.

Im not. I'm a licensed pilot and Ive already read that site and many others. I suspect you have a strong fear of flying to start with. Do some research on google, you can not argue against stastics :-)

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[phantomfiddler]

They say a photo never lies, but statistics, like photography, can deceive. I have wrecked 8 cars in serious crashes and walked away from every one of them, so in my eyes driving is safer than flying :)

[Skeptic7]

10 hours ago, Thunder26 said:

That is why I hate planes! They keep feeding us it is the safest way of traveling. In reality it is not! Tell this to the families of the deceased!

https://youtu.be/6VCMMB09ByA

 

 

In reality, it IS...commercially anyway. Facts remain facts whether you choose to accept them or not.

On average, according to The New York Times, a traveler could fly every day for 123,000 years and still be safe.

For a visual chart from Northwestern University...

http://www.cityam.com/215834/one-chart-showing-safest-ways-travel

From CNN: 

http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/13/news/economy/train-plane-car-deaths/

[Credo]

50 minutes ago, phantomfiddler said:

They say a photo never lies, but statistics, like photography, can deceive. I have wrecked 8 cars in serious crashes and walked away from every one of them, so in my eyes driving is safer than flying :)

And how about all the people around you when you wrecked those cars?   

 

I'd just as soon not be on the road when you are.   

[Skeptic7]

1 hour ago, phantomfiddler said:

They say a photo never lies, but statistics, like photography, can deceive. I have wrecked 8 cars in serious crashes and walked away from every one of them, so in my eyes driving is safer than flying :)

In my eyes...your driving license should be revoked immediately. 

 

Nearly 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,287 deaths a day. An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled. 

[mcfish]

I have to admit that I'f my time came I would rather get t boned in a car than spending several minutes spinning out of control with 270 screaming passengers

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk