Brazilian Congress to install committee on Voepass crash investigation

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s lower house of Congress was set on Tuesday to install a committee to monitor investigations into an aircraft crash in Sao Paulo state earlier this month, in which all 62 passengers and crew were killed.

The ATR 72-500 plane operated by regional carrier Voepass was bound for Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport from Cascavel, in the southern state of Parana, when it crashed in Vinhedo, some 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Sao Paulo, on Aug. 9.

Lower House Speaker Arthur Lira last week authorized the 37-person committee to be installed so lawmakers can keep track of the investigation, which is being carried out by aviation accident investigation center Cenipa.

ATR is a 50-50 joint venture between Airbus and Italy’s Leonardo.

The committee is expected to vote on Tuesday on the first invitations for people to speak before the group, including top airline executives and investigators, said Congressman Nelsinho Padovani, a leading member of the committee.

Among those the lawmakers plan to hear are Voepass President Jose Luiz Felicio Filho, Cenipa head Marcelo Moreno, and the head of Brazil’s civil aviation regulator ANAC, Tiago Sousa Pereira, Padovani told Reuters.

“Our intention is not to carry out a witch hunt,” said Padovani, who will be in charge of writing the final report with the committee’s conclusions. “We want to propose measures so it does not happen again.”

A spokesperson for ATR said: “At the moment, there is no further comment we can add as the story develops. We continue following the situation carefully and our teams are on location with French … teams to support the Brazilian investigation.”

The group is also expected to ask the chief executive of LATAM Airlines, Roberto Alvo, to attend a hearing. The local unit of Chile-based LATAM is Brazil’s No.1 airline and has a codeshare deal with Voepass.

LATAM and Voepass did not immediately respond to requests for comment. As per lower house rules, those invited are not obliged to appear before the committee.

Padovani’s initial expectation is for hearings to last until December and the report to be concluded by February. Cenipa will release its own preliminary report about the crash on Sept. 6.

Some experts have cited ice on the wings as a possible contributor to the crash, as warning notices were issued that day for severe icing in the region.

There have been multiple cases where pilots lost control of an ATR plane following reports of the formation of ice on the aircraft.

The lawmakers also plan to visit Voepass’ maintenance hub in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo state, said Padovani.

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by David Holmes)