Investigators search for answers into what caused plane carrying soccer team to crash in Colombia

The wreckage of the charter plane that crashed in Colombia on Monday.
(Image credit: Raul Arboleda/AFP/Getty Images)

The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have both been recovered from the wreckage of a chartered plane that crashed in Colombia on Monday, killing 77 passengers and crew members, and now investigators are working to determine what caused British Aerospace 146 to go down.

The jet was carrying members of Brazil's Chapecoense soccer team, as well as 21 Brazilian journalists, when it crashed just minutes away from Jose Maria Cordova Airport outside Medellin. Before the plane took off from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, it was inspected, and no problems were reported. Authorities initially said they believed the plane experienced an electrical failure, but a flight attendant who survived the accident suggested they possibly ran out of fuel. Weather conditions at the time were also poor. Hans Weber, an adviser to U.S. aviation authorities, told The Associated Press it's important for investigators to look at the aircraft's range, with the concern being "the pilots may have been cutting it too close."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.