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See what caused 2016 Brazil football team plane crash

Published

6 years ago

April 27, 2018

The 2016 plane crash that wiped out a Brazilian football team was caused by a lack of fuel , Colombia ’ s aviation authority said Friday following an extensive investigation into the disaster.
The probe was launched after the November 28 crash which claimed the lives of 71 people , including all but a handful of players from Brazil ’ s Chapecoense Real football club.

The accident “was caused by the plane ’ s empty fuel tank as a result of inappropriate risk management by LaMia (Airlines ), ” said Miguel Camacho , who heads the authority ’ s accident investigation branch .

LaMia Airlines is a Bolivian – registered charter company that specializes in flying Latin American football clubs.

Investigators from Bolivia , Brazil and Colombia had been looking into what caused the crash , with Friday ’s report confirming what had been one of the leading theories after a recording emerged in which the pilot radioed the control tower to report a fuel emergency .

Following a preliminary investigation a month after the crash , the Colombian aviation authority said it believed the airline had disregarded international rules on fuel reserves .

In its report Friday , the aviation authority said it had found sufficient “evidential and technical support ” to corroborate that theory .

Chapecoense had been enjoying a fairy tale season and were en route to the biggest match in their history , which they were tipped to win , when the plane went down, crashing into the Colombian mountains not far from the city of Medellin .

Of the 77 people onboard , only six people survived , three of them Chapecoense players .

Also killed were 20 Brazilian journalists who were traveling with the team to cover the match .