MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA — Investigators probing the site of this week’s plane crash in Colombia are trying to determine whether or not the plane ran out of fuel.
Moments before LaMia Airlines flight 2933 crashed on Monday, its co-pilot reportedly told Medellin airport control that the plane suffered a “total electrical failure, without fuel,” reported AFP, citing a leaked recording to Colombian media.
The flight was carrying 77 passengers, including Brazil’s Chapecoense soccer team, flight crew and journalists from Santa Cruz in Bolivia. Seventy-one people were killed in the crash, according to website Colombia Reports.
The team was flying to compete against Atletico Nacional in the finals of the Copa Sudamericana soccer tournament.
The distance between the two airports is some 1,839 miles, reported the Wall Street Journal, citing Great Circle Mapper. LaMia 2933 was a British Aerospace Avro RJ85 plane. According to Airliners.net, this plane’s maximum fuel capacity would carry it 1,842 miles.
LaMia airlines CEO Gustavo Vargas told Reuters that the decision of whether or not to refuel enroute is at the pilot’s discretion. The plane did not explode when crashing, and so far, investigators haven’t found traces of fuel at the crash site, reported ABC, citing investigators.
Nearly all members of the Chapecoense team were killed in the crash.
