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The plane crashed with the Brazilian soccer team. The tragedy of the Brazilian cinderella

The Brazilian soccer team crashed in a plane crash in Colombia.

What happened?

In Colombia, near Medellin, a British Aerospace 146 crashed. There were 72 passengers and 9 crew members on board. Among the passengers were the football players of the Brazilian club, who were to take part in the first final match of the South American Cup against the Colombian Atlético Nacional.

At the moment, 25 dead are known. Also, the full list of people on board is known - in addition to the football players and the aircraft crew, there were Chapecoense leaders, coaching staff, technical staff, journalists and guests of honor.

What kind of team crashed?

Chapecoense is a team that is not particularly well known in the CIS countries. 2 years ago, Chapecoense first entered the Brazilian Serie A after the 1970s. This fall, the club reached the South American Cup final, the first such achievement in the history of the club. Recall that in South America this cup is equated to the Europa League.

How did the accident happen?

According to Colombian sources, the plane disappeared from radar at 22:00 local time on Monday, November 28, when the plane flew over the cities of La Seja and Aberhorral. Shortly after midnight, it crashed shortly before its scheduled arrival. The missing plane began its flight at 15:35 local time from Sao Paulo, has landed in Eastern Bolivia, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

The first pictures have already been taken from the scene.

Why did this happen?

According to the mayor of the city of La Seja Elkin Ospina, the cause of the plane crash was a lack of fuel. According to another version, in the official release of the aviation authorities, the plane crashed due to a power failure. We will find out which version is more correct later.

What was the team flying on?

The Chapecoense football team flew on a CP-2933 charter plane. At the beginning of the month, the Argentine national team also flew on it. The Air Force colonel assures that the plane did not explode during the fall. This gives hope to find more survivors. At the same time, according to unconfirmed information, during the fall, the plane split in half.

What do they say at the scene?

More than 90 rescuers from nearby cities are involved in the rescue operation at Medellin airport. The situation is complicated by weather conditions - it is raining heavily. A state of emergency has been declared in the city. Air Force helicopters are looking for surviving passengers.

“We are working with local authorities in connection with the Chapecoense plane emergency,” the airport tweeted.

What do they write in Brazil?

Chapecoense posted a short message on his Facebook page: “Given the conflicting reports from various publicistic sources regarding the crash of the plane carrying the Chapecoense players, we refrain from commenting and await official statements from the Colombian air authorities. May God be with our athletes, leaders, journalists and other members of the delegation. "

Are there any survivors?

Yes. The defender Alan Ruskel, who was rescued from the wreckage of the plane, has already been delivered to the La Seja hospital. It is reported that Alan has multiple bone fractures, hip, and head lacerations. The second survivor is Chapecoense's goalkeeper Danilo Padilla. It is surprising that before the flight Ruskel posted on Instagram his picture from the board - just with Danilo. Jackson Vollmann is taken to the hospital.

Another survivor, already taken to the hospital, is the flight attendant Jimena Suarez.

The 23rd Chapecoense player was supposed to appear on board, but at the last moment he was unhooked from the line-up. His name has not yet been announced.

Chapecoense took 9th place in the championship for the round before the finish and the day before yesterday lost to the champions of the country Palmeiras (0: 1).

CONMEBOL has suspended all activities of the organization until further notice, the official website said. President Alejandro Dominguez flew to Medellin.

In Brazil, a three-day mourning has been declared, and in the state of Santa Catarina - a 30-day mourning ...

Six of the 77 people on the plane survived the tragedy. Among them are three Chapecoense footballers - defenders Alan Ruschell and Helio Sampier Neto and the goalkeeper Jackson Vollmann... Team goalkeeper Marcos Danilo due to numerous injuries, he died already in the hospital.

Other survivors - crew members Jimena Suarez and Erwin Tumiri and also a journalist Raphael Valmorbida.


The Reuters photographer, who was one of the first to arrive at the crash site, said he saw dozens of bodies lying near the wreckage. According to him, by that time about 30 rescuers, police and military representatives were looking for survivors. The plane was divided into two parts, while only the nose and wings were distinguishable, the tail was completely destroyed.

Colombian officials said the charter flight with the Chapecoense on board departed São Paulo on Monday afternoon (5:35 pm local time), stopped in Bolivia and then headed to Medellin, where the team was to play the Copa final match. Libertadores with the local Atletico Nacional.

The British Aerospace 146, which flew to the second largest city in Colombia, carried football players, the management and staff of the football club, as well as journalists.

At 10:00 pm, Medellin airport officials said the plane's pilots reported electrical problems, and 15 minutes later, the plane disappeared from radar and crashed in a wooded mountainous area 30 miles from its destination. Rescue operations were hampered by heavy rain, fog and darkness.

“At the moment it is known that the tragedy happened in Cerro Gordo, province of La Union,” - said the authorities. It was assumed that there were 81 people on board, but later it turned out that four passengers at the last moment decided not to fly.

On Monday, Colombia's Civil Aviation Agency announced that the aircraft's two flight recorders had been found "in excellent condition."


The two surviving crew members - Jimena Suarez and Ervin Tumiri - were taken to Riogrande Hospital.

Three players - Alan Russchel, Helio Sampier Neto and Jackson Vollmann - and journalist Rafael Valmorbida were also taken to the hospital. Two of them were seriously injured. For the life of another survivor after the crash, Marcos Danilo, doctors fought for several hours ...

Russel maintains the sensitivity of the limbs and can restore physical activity. Doctors diagnosed the 27-year-old defender with multiple fractures of the arms and legs, as well as a fracture of the spine. He was operated on and transferred to another hospital.

Volmann's leg was amputated.

Detailed information about the other survivors and their condition is not yet available.

Graças a Deus o Alan está no hospital, estado estável. Estamos orando por todos que ainda não foram socorridos, e força para todos os familiares. Situação complicado, difícil. Só Deus para dar força mesmo. 🙏🏻 obrigada Deus

Nivaldo, The 42-year-old goalkeeper who has played for the Chapecoense since 2006 and has not flown to Colombia, said he woke up at 5am on Tuesday after a call from a friend who asked if the player was on the plane. According to Nivaldo, he tried to contact one of his teammates, but no one answered ...

Among the victims is the head coach of the team, Luis Carlos Saroli, also known as Cayo Junior... His son, Mateus Saroli, also had to fly to Colombia, but stayed at home, tk. lost my passport. “We need strength. I ask you to give us some peace of mind, especially my mother, ”he wrote on his Facebook page.

Forward Alejandro Martinuccio we should thank fate - his life was saved by an injury, due to which he also did not fly with the team to Medellin. “I’m saved only because I’m injured. I am saddened ... The only thing I can ask for is to pray for those on board, "said the striker, also known for his performances for Villarreal, Penarol and Brazilian Curitiba, Ponte Preto. Cruzeiro "and" Fluminense ".

Chapecoense third goalkeeper Marcelo Buck did not fly with the team, because received permission to celebrate his birthday.

All those who remained in Brazil today came to the dressing room, where they celebrated reaching the Copa Libertadores final a few days ago, to honor the memory of the victims.


The liner carrying the Chapecoense had been in operation for 17 years. The same plane carried the Argentina national team to the match with Brazil (0: 3) in the qualifying tournament of the 2018 World Cup.

Because the plane was produced in the UK, and a team of three experts from the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) went to the crash site.

It is known that after the fall, the plane did not catch fire, but at the moment it is not clear why this happened - either the pilots somehow dropped the remaining fuel, or it simply ran out.

It is also worth noting that Chapecoense players were not supposed to fly this flight at all (!) - shortly before departure, the Brazilian Civil Aviation Authority prohibited the club from flying to Medellin by charter, so the team had to buy tickets for a regular commercial flight.

Brazilian President Michel Temer announced a three-day mourning and expressed condolences to the families and families of the victims. “I express my solidarity at this sad time when dozens of Brazilian families have suffered from the tragedy,” the politician's official Twitter account says. “We offer any form of assistance to families. The Air Force and the Foreign Office are handling this case. The government will do everything it can to ease the pain of this loss. "


Temera's colleague from Colombia Juan Manuel Santos also expressed condolences to the families of the victims.

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has announced seven days of mourning in the wake of the plane crash, with all matches held under the auspices of the CBF postponed for a week. According to the CBF ruling, the return game of the National Cup between Gremio and Atletico Mineiro will take place on December 7, the final round of the Brazilian Serie A on December 11, and the Brazilian Cup final U20 between Bahia and Sao Paulo will take place on December 8 ...

The Confederation of South American Football (CONMEBOL), in connection with the tragedy, also announced the suspension of all international competitions under its auspices.

Representatives of Atletico Nacional, with whom the Chapecoense was to play in the Copa final, suggested that CONMEBOL award the Brazilian club a cup win as a "posthumous tribute to the victims of the disaster." “For us, Chapecoense is the champion of the tournament,” the Colombian team said.

Dozens and hundreds of clubs around the world have provided or are ready to help Shape. Brazilian and Argentinean teams made an official appeal, in which they declared their readiness to provide Chapecoense with players.

Financial assistance to Brazilian Leicester was provided by London Arsenal, Cristiano Ronaldo and many others. Nobody was left aside from the tragedy. “We could have been in their place. If we hadn't lost, then perhaps the Coritiba would have flown to Medellin. We are all saddened because we had a good relationship with Chapecoense. Coritiba will do everything in its power to help our brothers in Santa Catarina, said Coritiba President Roger Baselard.


After the tragedy, Chapecoense fans gathered at the stadium to honor the memory of the victims. Hundreds of fans brought flags and flowers and then read a prayer together. “The city just stopped. Very sad. This is a big loss for all Brazilian football. The team was at their peak, ”said goalkeeper Nivaldo.


The Chapecoense story is the story of the Brazilian Cinderella. Back in 2009, the team played in Serie D and was on the verge of bankruptcy. The club was saved by local businessmen - they raised money, 30% of which was spent on paying off debts (about half a million dollars), and 70% on further development.

In the fall of 2009, Chape entered Serie C, a year later it could have been eliminated, but remained in the third division due to the unwillingness of Atletico Ibirama to take his place. In 2012, he climbed into Serie B, and in 2014 took off to the elite. The journey from the fourth league to the South American Cup final took only seven years.


After reaching the finals of Copa Libertadores, it was very loud in the locker room - songs, dances, champagne. The team was at their peak. One step away from triumph.


But the final will not be played. Heaven has already got champions.

ALL PHOTOS

In Colombia, a plane crashed with 81 people on board, including nine crew members and 72 passengers, including 22 players from the Brazilian football club Chapecoense, 28 members of the club's management, coaches and 22 journalists accompanying the sports delegation. According to the country's authorities, only six people survived the plane crash. According to Flightradar, the plane flew to the Colombian city of Medellin from the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia and crashed about 45 km from the destination airport.

Representatives of the Civil Aviation Administration of Colombia said that the liner, which belonged to the Bolivian air carrier Lamia, crashed in the area of ​​the town of El Gordo near the municipality of La Union (department of Antioquia), TASS reports. Rescuers quickly arrived at the crash site.

Later it became known that the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) suspended events under its auspices, including matches of the South American Cup final, in connection with the disaster in Colombia, TASS reports. The final match of the South American Football Cup has been postponed.

"CONMEBOL confirms that it was notified by the Colombian authorities that the plane carrying the Chapecoense delegation had an accident in Colombia," the organization said in a statement. "CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez is on his way to Medellin right now," the statement said.

Chapecoense is a Brazilian football club from Chapeco (Santa Catarina state). It was founded on May 10, 1973 by the amalgamation of the Atletico Chapecoense and Independente clubs. Since 2014 he has been playing in Serie A of the Brazilian Championship. Chapecoense play in the Major League, where they are currently in ninth place.

Recall that in recent years, this is not the first plane crash on which members of one sports team flew. So, on September 7, 2011, near Yaroslavl, the Yak-42D airliner of the Yak Service airline crashed on its way to Minsk. The main team of the Lokomotiv hockey club (Yaroslavl) was on board. The athletes flew to their first match in the 2011/2012 KHL Championship.

Then one person survived the crash - an engineer for aviation and radio engineering services Alexander Sizov. The remaining 44 people (36 passengers and eight crew members) were killed.

Other similar tragedies include two more plane crashes. On January 5, 1950, near the Sverdlovsk Koltsovo airport, a Li-2 plane crashed with 11 hockey players, a doctor and a masseur of the Air Force ice hockey team.

On August 11, 1979, two Tu-134A Aeroflot airliners collided in the sky near Dneprodzerzhinsk at an altitude of 8400 m (flights 7628 Chelyabinsk - Voronezh - Chisinau and 7880 Tashkent - Guryev - Donetsk - Minsk), as a result of which all 178 passengers were killed. people (94 on flight 7628 and 84 on flight 7880). Among the dead were 17 members of the Uzbek football club "Pakhtakor", who were flying to Minsk for the game.

Athletes fly often - to competitions, training camps, training. And representatives of team sports also fly all together. Therefore, numerous cases from the history of modern sports, when an entire sports team died in a plane crash, are statistically quite explainable. But this does not diminish the pain of relatives, friends and fans. Today we remember the most tragic plane crashes in the history of sports.

The death of the Yaroslavl "Locomotive"

Yaroslavl “Lokomotiv” has not achieved much success over the decade, since the former head coach Vladimir Vuytek left the team in 2003, having received a better offer from ex-rivals - Kazan “Ak Bars”. This, however, did not prevent the team from starting each season with full dedication. At the start of the 2011-12 season, the team intended to follow the same course as a member of the Kontinental Hockey League. But on September 7, 2011, during a flight to Minsk for the first game of the season, almost the entire team died in a plane crash. The Yak-42 plane, on which the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv was flying, crashed a few seconds after takeoff from the Yaroslavl Tunoshna airport. One of the star players of the team was Alexander Galimov, whose efforts in the matches on the eve of the season, the team won seven victories and two defeats. It was Galimov who scored the last goal in Lokomotiv's games before the plane crash. Galimov survived the crash, but died in hospital five days later. The rest of the players, as well as the coaches and technical staff of the team, died on the spot, as did the rest of the passengers and crew members, with the exception of crew engineer Alexander Sizov. The cause of the disaster was recognized as a mistake by the crew, which, as it turned out, was not sufficiently prepared to fly this type of aircraft.

The plane crash that changed wrestling

This plane crash resulted in serious injuries for the participants and ended two careers. However, if the injuries of those who survived were more serious, the entire sports and entertainment industry would change beyond recognition. A Cessna-310 private jet en route from Charlotte to Wilmington, North Carolina on September 4, 1975, carried promoter David Crockett and four wrestlers - Mr. Wrestling II, Bobby Bruges, Johnny Valentine and Rick Flair. The plane crash was the result of a mistake by the crew, who incorrectly calculated the amount of fuel. As the survivors admitted, when the plane began to fall, they were sure that this was the end. However, the crash killed only the pilot, who died from his injuries two months later. Valentine was paralyzed and his career ended. Bruges also retired from the sport, although he retained the ability to walk. Why could this disaster have changed the face of the industry? The fact is that Flair and Valentine, according to legend, were "bad guys" who feuded with Mr. Wrestling, and the industry for a long time tried to hide the truth about the disaster, not telling anyone about Mr. Wrestling's participation in that flight. He himself, fortunately, managed to support the cover legend - remaining alive and well, Mr. Restnling entered the ring just two weeks after the accident.

Plane crash "Grand Torino"

Italian, and maybe even world football, did not know a team that had such an indisputable superiority over its rivals as “Grand Torino” - such a nickname was given to the team of the Italian football club “Torino” in the 1940s. The team won five national cups in a row and continued to win until a plane crash on May 4, 1949 killed 18 players and 13 team members. "Grand Torino" was a team handpicked: the owner of the "Torino" club Ferruzio Novo was one of the first specialists in the world of sports to put the search for talent on a professional basis.
Club "Torino" won championship titles from 1941 until 1949, with the exception of 1945-45, when the national championship was not held. In the 1949 championship, they were also considered the undisputed favorites until the day of the plane crash that occurred during the return of the players from a friendly game in Lisbon. The cause of the accident was the pilot's mistake, who lost control in bad weather conditions. The National Football Federation, in the end, decided to award the team with the 1949 championship title as a sign of the highest justice: after all, if that unfortunate accident had not happened, the team would have undoubtedly received it.

Busby Babes Plane Crash in Munich

The "Busby Babes", who came to football from a youth school, graduates of the head coach of "Manchester United" Matt Busby, were very young - they were all in their early twenties. Nevertheless, the graduates of the Manchester youth team, who had played together since childhood, were a close-knit professional team, and after joining the main team they won the English championship twice - in the 1955-56 and 1956-57 seasons. Fans adored them not only for their talent, but also for the fact that they were all pupils of the club, and not players bought in other clubs, which was just becoming fashionable at that time. Alas, their success was interrupted by a plane crash in Munich on February 6, 1958, in which eight key players of the team were killed and two more were seriously injured. The plane, trying to take off during a blizzard, barely got off the ground and soon collapsed. The disaster made such a depressing impression on the British that even the Queen expressed personal condolences not only to the families and friends of the victims, but to the people of England as a whole.

American figure skating team killed in plane crash

In 1961, figure skating in the United States was at its peak. The leader of the national figure skating team, Laurence Owen, even appeared on the cover of the popular Sports Illustrated magazine ahead of the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague. Two days after the magazine's issue was published, Owen and the rest of the national team were tragically killed in a plane crash in Brussels. The plane that brought the skaters to Europe exploded during an emergency landing. All 72 passengers, including the athletes of the national team and their families, died instantly. The only survivor was a dog flying in the luggage compartment. The figure skating world was overwhelmed. The World Championships in Prague were canceled after news of the disaster, and the Americans were so shocked that they lost interest in figure skating for a long time, undermined by bad memories. Even President Kennedy was so shocked that his brother, Senator Robert Kennedy, addressed the people with words of condolences.

Death of the "Strongest"

It was not for nothing that Bolivian team "Strongest" had such a self-confident name: it really shone in the national championship for many years. In September 1969, the team flew to Santa Cruz for a friendly match. Having played, the players of the "Strongest" on September 26, 1969 on a DC-6 plane went to their homeland, to the city of La Paz. But it was on this day that a military coup took place in the country. In the confusion, the plane with the players mysteriously disappeared from the radar and was discovered only a day later crashed near the village of Viloko. All passengers - 81 people - were killed, including 17 football players, the team's coach and manager, and a technician.

The death of the Marshall University American football team

For the small town of Huntington, West Virginia, 1970 was marked by the success of the local Marshall University American football team, the Thundering Horde. As a local team, the Horde rarely traveled by plane, and the joint flight on November 14, 1970 was almost the first in its practice. Why the plane crashed, the investigation did not manage to figure it out. There were 37 crew members on board, including 9 coaches, and a number of fans. Given the death toll, this disaster is considered the most massive tragedy in the history of American sports.

The death of "Pakhtakor"

The death of the Pakhtakor football team is perhaps the most famous tragedy in the history of Soviet sports. Tashkent "Pakhtakor" was one of the most successful football teams in the USSR. On August 11, 1979, the team flew on a TU-134 Minsk plane to a meeting with Dinamo Minsk. The dispatcher noticed too late that the plane was dangerously approaching another TU-134 in the air. He gave the order for the planes to disperse, but the command was not accepted by the crews - and the wing of one of the planes was proportional to the fuselage of the other. This caused both vehicles to explode in the air. All 178 passengers on both flights were killed, including 17 Pakhtakor players and coaches. According to rumors, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev flew that day, which caused confusion on the airways. Despite the tragedy, the surviving players of "Pakhtakor" returned to the field just 12 days after the tragedy to continue playing in the USSR championship, thus paying tribute to their dead comrades.

The deaths of basketball players from Evansville

In 1977, the University of Evansville basketball team prepared for a tough start to the season. The main problem of the team was the departure of the coach, Arad McCutchen, who had been working with the team for many years. McCutchen was very popular in Evansville: Time magazine even called him "the pride and passion" of the local basketball team. But the “Purple Aces” were not going to give up, although the season began unsuccessfully: three losses against one victory. Nonetheless, the team members were determined when they headed out for the match against the University of Central Tennessee on December 3, 1977. The flight was delayed for several hours due to bad weather conditions. When the plane nevertheless took off from the ground, it stayed in the air for only one and a half minutes, after which it crashed to the ground. Among the causes of the disaster was later named, in particular, the overloading of the luggage compartment. The crash killed 17 crew members. Later, the University of Evansville opened the Crying Basketball Memorial in honor of the victims.

The death of the Zambian national team

The 1993 Zambian football team was considered the best in the history of the country. Football has always been popular in this African country, especially during the reign of President Kenneth Kaunda, who spared no money for its development. After the displacement of Kaunda, there was less money, but the national team, despite the poverty, remained one of the best in Africa. However, the team had to cut itself on everything, including transportation costs. To fly to the World Cup qualifier against Senegal in Dakar, the team had to rent a plane from the Zambian Air Force. Alas, the national air force was in a deplorable state. On April 27, 1993, during the flight, one of the aircraft's engines caught fire. The pilot made a fatal mistake, turning off the second engine, after which the plane completely lost control and crashed. All 18 players on board were killed.

Plane crash of the American boxing team

As you know, the US team, among 65 countries of the world, boycotted the Moscow 1980 Olympics. However, the U.S. boxing team would have been unable to compete anyway due to the horrific plane crash on March 14, 1980 that killed 14 athletes and 8 team members. Boxers were heading to a competition in Poland when their plane crashed approach to Warsaw. In total, 87 passengers died in the crash. The best of the crashed athletes is the Pan American Games champion Lemuel Steeples.

The death of the "eleven motley"

These Dutch footballers of Surinamese descent were real humanists: they played in charity matches, thus raising funds to work with children from socially disadvantaged areas, involving them in sports and helping them find the right path in life. They were called "eleven motley" - a sign that they bring bright colors to the lives of children from the poorest families. In fact, there were more team members - only about two dozen people. The next charity match with their participation was to take place in the capital of Suriname, Paramaribo. But it did not take place: fifteen team members died in a plane crash in Paramaribo on June 7, 1989, which killed 176 passengers and crew members of the plane flying from Europe to South America. Two more team members, including Dutch football legend Ruud Gullit, gave up the flight at the very last moment and therefore escaped. As it turned out later, the crash occurred due to the fact that when landing at Paramaribo airport, the plane touched the top of a tree.

Hendrick Motosport team killed in plane crash

The death of a rider on the track, although rare, does happen, but the death of a rider in a plane crash is an exceptional case. Meanwhile, it was he who happened on October 24, 2004, when 10 people from the Hendrick Motorsport team were killed in a plane crash, including the son of team owner Rick Hendrick, NASCAR racer Ricky Hendrick, his older brother and nieces. On this day, the team successfully took part in the competitions on the auto track in Marisville. The message of the accident, which killed 10 people, came a few minutes after the news of the victory of the racer Jimmy Johnson on the track. The cause of the disaster would later be blamed on a combination of pilot error and harsh foggy weather.

Oklahoma Cowboys Plane Crash

In November 2011, Oklahoma's women's basketball team lost team head coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda Serna. They and two other passengers were killed in the crash of a small private jet on which the coach and his assistant were returning home from a trip where they recruited new players for their team. The girls from the basketball team considered Kurt Budke a real father, and his assistant was treated like a sister. In addition to them, State Senator Olin Brunstetter and his wife Paula were killed in the crash. The most incredible thing is that for five years the commission to investigate the disaster has not been able to establish its cause. At the helm of the plane was Senator Brunstetter, who did not report turbulence or other weather-related issues to controllers. The version that the senator became ill and lost control of the car was not confirmed either. There were also no technical faults identified. Because of what the plane crashed, it still remains a mystery.

The death of the "Oklahoma Cowboys"

The long history of the University of Oklahoma tragedies began in January 2001, when 10 members of the university's men's basketball team were killed in a small private jet crash. The team was returning home after being defeated by Colorado Buffaloes to regroup and reassemble for the next games. But the plane's pilot lost his bearings during a blizzard and the plane crashed to the ground. Oklahoma Cowboys players and fans still remember the dead players and coaches with the funeral hymn "Remember the Top Ten." In addition, a memorial has been set up in honor of the victims on the territory of the university, and sports competitions are held in memory of the victims every year.

Almost the entire core of the Brazilian football club Chapecoense, heading to Colombian Medellin for the first South American Cup final match with Atlético Nacional, was killed in a plane crash on Tuesday night over Colombia. There were 81 people on board, including the Chapecoense players, crew attendants, journalists and crew members. However, by some miracle, five of them managed to survive. This can help to more quickly clarify the causes of the tragedy. At the moment, there are two main versions - electronics failure and depletion of the fuel supply.


Catastrophe


On Monday night, about 30 km from Medellin, the BAe 146 of the Bolivian airline LaMia crashed. A total of 81 people were on board, including almost the entire core of the Brazilian football club Chapecoense, heading to Medellin, where the first South American Cup final match (the second most important South American club tournament after the Copa Libertadores) was scheduled for December 1, in which the Brazilians had to oppose the Colombian “Atlético Nacional”. In addition to footballers, coaches and crew members, there were also 21 journalists and nine crew members on board.

According to the Colombian authorities, at about 22:00 local time, the crew of the ship, at that time at an altitude of approximately 4500 m, gave a distress signal. He soon disappeared from the radar. Rescuers, taking into account the circumstances, in particular the fact that the plane crashed in a mountainous and wooded area, as well as the fact that it was raining heavily in the fall zone, managed to arrive at the crash site rather quickly. It soon became clear that there were survivors in the plane crash. Among them were two goalkeepers of the team - Danilo and Jackson Fallman, defenders Alan Rushel and Eliu Zampier, as well as one of the journalists and a flight attendant.

The presence of survivors of the disaster allows us to hope that the investigation of the causes of the tragedy will proceed faster than usual. At the moment, the Colombian authorities have practically ruled out the version with a pilot error. This is pushed by the fact that the crew, even before the car disappeared from the radar, managed to report that the aircraft's electronic equipment was failing. In addition, a flight attendant who survived the crash reported that the flight was proceeding normally, but at some point all four engines stopped at once. In his opinion, it looked like the plane had simply run out of fuel.

Note that the crashed BAe 146 was produced in 1999. It has been in operation by LaMia since 2013, and during this time it was this aircraft that regularly transported football teams, including the Argentine national team or the same Atletico Nacional. At the airport in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, from where he was traveling (the Brazilian aviation authorities did not give the Bolivian company permission for a charter flight to Colombia, citing the fact that such flights should be operated by either Brazilian or Colombian carriers), they said that the pre-flight inspection did not reveal no problem.

After it became known about the disaster, the Brazilian authorities declared three days of mourning in the country. In turn, the Confederation of Football of South America (CONMEBOL) has canceled all matches played under its auspices until further notice. Of course, this also applies to the finals of the South American Cup, which will definitely not take place now. Well, it is not excluded that the winner will be declared exactly "Chapecoense". At least such a proposal was made yesterday by the leadership of Atletico Nacional.

Alexander Petrov

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