The pilot of the plane that ‘fell out of the sky’ in Brazil killing all 62 people on board has been identified as a 35-year-old with ten years of experience.
Captain Danilo Santos Romano was named today as the first victim of the horror crash in the city of Vinhedo on Friday, local news has reported.
Mr Romano from Sao Paulo worked as a pilot for more than a decade and joined Voepass Airlines in 2022, his LinkedIn profile shows.
He had logged more than 4,500 flight hours and has been described as ‘always smiling’ and ‘willing to help’ by colleagues.
Mr Romano wrote in his LinkedIn profile description: ‘As an ATR72 Captain, I am responsible for the safety of passengers, cargo, and crew, as well as the maintenance of the aircraft’s airworthiness, to provide a secure, efficient, and economical flight.
‘I am passionate about aviation and committed to delivering the best service to our customers and partners.’
Captain Danilo Santos Romano was named today as the first victim of the horror crash in the city of Vinhedo, local news has reported
Mr Romano worked as a pilot for more than a decade and joined Voepass Airlines in 2022, his LinkedIn profile shows
All 62 on board – 58 passengers and 4 crew – died in the crash
He had logged more than 4,500 flight hours and has been described as ‘always smiling’ and ‘willing to help’ by colleagues
A photo from the scene of the crash site on Brazil on Friday
The 35-year-old has also been described as a fan of Palmeiras football club and a keen runner.
Mr Romano was in the cockpit when the Voepass Airlines plane came spiralling down over a populated area before crashing behind a cluster of trees on Friday.
Witnesses previously described their horror at seeing the plane ‘fall out of the sky and explode’ – as experts continue to make sense of what happened.
‘I almost believe the pilot tried to avoid a nearby neighbourhood, which is densely populated,’ Daniel de Lima, a resident of Vinhedo near the crash site, told Reuters.
All the people on board have been reported dead, though relatives are still waiting for confirmation of the fate of their loved ones.
On Friday regional carrier Voepass said the plane was carrying 57 passengers and four crew, but on Saturday the firm confirmed another unaccounted for passenger was on the flight, putting the number of casualties at 62.
All those on board were carrying Brazilian-issued documents, the airline has said.
Some of the passengers were doctors from Parana heading to a seminar, Governor Ratinho Junior told reporters.
‘These were people who were used to saving lives, and now they’ve lost theirs in such tragic circumstances,’ he said.
Daniel de Lima said he heard a loud noise on Friday before looking outside his condo and seeing the plane in a horizontal spiral.
The plane can be seen in a ‘death spiral’ before it crashed into a residential area on Friday
Pictured: The wreckage of the Voepass Airlines plane that crashed in Brazil
Video footage showed devastation to a populated area after the plane crashed
‘It was rotating, but it wasn’t moving forward,’ he told Reuters. ‘Soon after it fell out of the sky and exploded.’
‘When I heard the sound of the plane falling, I looked out my window at home and saw the moment it crashed,’ witness Felipe Magalhaes told Reuters.
‘Terrified and not knowing what to do, I jumped over the wall,’ he said.
The plane was on its way from Cascavel to Guarulhos cruising at 17,000 feet when it began the sudden descent.
Brazil’s Civil Defense says the plane struck several houses within the residential area, CNN Brasil reported.
Sao Paulo federal police told ABC that one resident was injured following the impact.
Nathalie Cicari, another resident, said she was having lunch when she heard a ‘very loud noise nearby’.
She said it sound like a drone but ‘much louder’, heading to the balcony to see the plane spiralling.
‘Within seconds, I realised that it was not a normal movement for a plane.’
Natalia said she had to evacuate her house, filling with thick black smoke after the crash.
Another witness called Pietro told Reuters he had seen ‘a lot of people’ breaking into a condominium ‘to make videos’.
‘What I saw was the wreckage of the plane, all that was left was the cabin,’ he said.
Experts have begun trying to make sense of what could have happened, with confirmation yet to be announced.
The plane’s black box was reported to have been found in the early hours of this morning, and federal police have started an investigation, saying it is currently too early to determine the cause of the crash.
Debris is pictured as emergency personnel work at the site of a plane crash on Friday
Rescuers arrive at the Voepass Airlines Twin Engine ATR-72-500 crash site on August 9
A dramatic video from the scene on Friday showed a Voepass plane falling from the sky as it plummeted behind a cluster of trees near houses, followed by a large plume of black smoke
The plane was on its way from Cascavel to Guarulhos cruising at 17,000 feet when it began the sudden descent
A vehicle from Medico-Legal Institute is seen entering the site of an airplane crash last night
One top aviation expert told MailOnline that the plane could have experience engine failure, flight control malfunction, or a critical part of the aircraft falling off.
And once you enter the death spiral, ‘it’s very hard to get out of it,’ Captain Ross Aimer, who has over 40 years of experience flying passenger jets in the US, said.
Aimer said the most likely cause of the crash was that the aircraft suffered a low speed stall – when the airflow over the wings is too slow to provide enough lift.
This happens when planes move too slowly. The three reasons this happens are either a technical fault, extreme turbulence, pilot error or something hitting the wing, like a bird.
The ATR-72 aircraft that crashed in Vinhedo, Brazil, was cruising at 17,000 feet, the airline said.
At that height, it was unlikely to be a bird.
After the plane likely stalled, video showed it spinning in circles as it crashed back down to earth.
This is known as a death spiral, or graveyard spin.
When the wing stalls and dips, and there is no power because the engine has turned off, the plane can go into a spiral where one wing is generating lift while the plane rotates around the other right into the ground.
Others have speculated that ice could have built up on the plane.
‘Today ice was predicted (at the altitudes the plane was flying at), but within the acceptable range,’ Voepass Chief Operations Officer Marcel Moura told a press conference.
‘But the plane is sensitive to ice, that could be a starting point,’ Moura said, adding the plane’s de-icing system, along with all other systems, had been deemed operational before takeoff.
City officials at Valinhos, near Vinhedo, said a home in the local condominium complex had been damaged after the plane crashed into its backyard. None of the residents were hurt.