Investigators search for answers into what caused plane carrying soccer team to crash in Colombia
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."
Only six people survived the crash, deemed the worst to occur in Colombia in the last 20 years, including three members of the soccer team. They were headed to the Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional of Medellin; all scheduled matches have been canceled, and Atletico Nacional has asked that Chapecoense be given the championship title.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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