CENIPA Final Report on Voepass Flight 2283 Cites Icing, Crew Errors

Final Report Identifies Systemic Failures

Brazil's Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA) has released its final report on the Aug. 3, 2024, crash of Voepass Flight 2283, citing a combination of severe icing, crew errors and organizational deficiencies. The ATR 72-500, registration PS-VPB, crashed near São Paulo, killing all 62 people on board. Investigators identified 19 contributing factors, including the crew's failure to execute required procedures after receiving eight "cruise speed low" warnings and a "degraded performance" alert.

Cockpit Mismanagement and Human Factors

The crew repeatedly cycled the de-icing system on and off despite continuing severe icing conditions, according to the CENIPA report. Investigators highlighted "inattentional blindness and deafness," finding that the pilots were distracted by routine radio traffic and administrative tasks while ignoring critical flight-protection warnings. That mismanagement led to a loss of lift and an unrecoverable flat spin.

Not a Repeat of American Eagle 4184

Analysts are emphatic that the Voepass accident is not a repeat of American Eagle Flight 4184, the 1994 ATR 72 crash caused by a design-induced roll-control failure in icing conditions. The Voepass tragedy is instead characterized as a preventable event driven by human factors and a "culture of normalizing deviations" within the airline. Investigators also found that a prior de-icing system fault on the aircraft may have gone unrecorded in the technical logbook, potentially allowing the aircraft to fly when regulatory grounding requirements should have applied.