BRAZIL’S Congress has announced the creation of a committee to oversee the investigation into the plane crash that killed 62 people. Lower House Speaker Arthur Lira authorized the creation of the 37-member committee last week that will oversee the investigation by Cenipa, the agency investigating the crash.
The lower house is expected to decide who will be called to speak before the panel on Tuesday. “Our intention is not to do a witch hunt. We want to propose measures so that this does not happen again,” Congressman Nelsinho Padovani told Al Jazeera on Wednesday (August 28).
The tragic incident earlier this month, in which an ATR 72-500 operated by regional airline Voepass crashed in the city of Vinhedo about 80 km north of Sao Paulo, was Brazil’s deadliest aviation accident in more than a decade.
Padovani said the committee is expected to call figures such as Voepass President Jose Luiz Felicio Filho, Cenipa chief Marcelo Moreno and the head of Brazil’s civil aviation regulator ANAC, Tiago Sousa Pereira, to speak before the panel. Those invited to speak are not required to appear before the committee.
While Cenipa is expected to release preliminary findings of its investigation on Sept. 6, congressional committees will hold hearings through December and are expected to report in February. The circumstances leading up to the Aug. 9 crash remain unclear, though video of the aftermath showed burning wreckage strewn across the ground.
Some experts believe the crash may have been caused by ice building up on the plane’s wings, causing the pilot to lose control. There have been similar incidents of ATR planes accumulating ice on their wings in the past.
“At this time, we have no further comment to add as this story develops,” an ATR spokesperson said of the committee, adding that they are continuing to follow the situation closely.
The ill-fated plane was reportedly en route to Sao Paulo from Cascavel airport in the southern state of Parana. (I-2)
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