They found out that the plane’s transponder registered a vertical speed of 8,000 to 24,000 feet per minute in its last minute.
Brazilian aviation expert Lito Sousa speculated that ice had a role in the incident, however it is too early to tell for sure.
A single reason cannot account for every accident or air disaster, he said. In order for terrible things to happen, a series of circumstances must occur. That being the case, ice might have been involved.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil offered his sympathies and called for a moment of quiet on Friday in honor of the deaths.
At an event, he told reporters, “We just have to mourn and care for the families, care for the people who are now going to be very nervous.” That was his way of putting it. The atmosphere is heavy with melancholy.
According to the Brazilian Air Force, a group from São Paulo’s Aeronautical Accident inquiry and Prevention Center was sent to conduct the inquiry.
