The accident aircraft in 2010, while in service with Air France (City Jet)
Accident summary
Date	28 November 2016 (2016-11-28)
Summary	Crashed; under investigation
Site	Cerro Gordo, La Unión, Antioquia (Colombia) 5°58′50″N 75°25′06″W / 5.9805°N 75.4183°W / 5.9805; -75.4183Coordinates: 5°58′50″N 75°25′06″W / 5.9805°N 75.4183°W / 5.9805; -75.4183[1]
Passengers	68
Crew	9
Fatalities	71
Injuries (non-fatal)	6
Survivors	6
Aircraft type	Avro RJ85
Operator	LaMia Bolivia
Registration	CP-2933
Flight origin	Viru Viru International Airport, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Destination	José María Córdova International Airport, Rionegro, Colombia

 

Flight path in a circular holding during the last 15 minutes. Orange star indicates the location where ADS-B signals were lost. Red explosion indicates the crash site.

LaMia Bolivia Airlines Flight 2933 (LMI 2933) was an Avro RJ85 that crashed in Colombia on 28 November 2016 while transporting the Brazilian Chapecoense football team from Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, to José María Córdova International Airport in Colombia due to fuel exhaustion[2][3]. The airliner carried 77 people: 9 crew and 68 passengers, which included the team and 21 journalists. The team was en route to play the first leg of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana Finals in Medellín, against Colombian team Atlético Nacional.[4][5][6] Six people survived the crash.

Aircraft

The aircraft was an Avro RJ85, registration CP-2933,[1] serial number E.2348,[7] and had first flown on 26 March 1999.[8] After service with other airlines and a period in storage between 2010 and 2013, it was acquired by LaMia Airlines, a Venezuelan-Bolivian airline.[7] At the time of the accident, CP-2933 was the only serviceable aircraft in LaMia's fleet of three RJ85s.[9]

Accident

 

Altitude and speed from ADS-B data. The signals were lost at 2:55:48 UTC.

The aircraft was on a flight from the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra to Medellín in Colombia, carrying 68 passengers and 9 crew members.[10] Among the passengers were members of the Brazilian Chapecoense Football Club who were travelling to play their away leg of the Final for the 2016 Copa Sudamericana in Medellín against Atlético Nacional.

The National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC) had denied Chapecoense's request to charter an aircraft that could fly directly from São Paulo to Medellín, leading to an unusual stop and change of aircraft in Santa Cruz.[11] ANAC had required that the charter operator be Brazilian or Colombian to authorize a direct flight, but the club opted to retain LaMia, which had already transported other football clubs,[9] including teams playing in Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) competitions and the Argentina national team, which had flown on the same aircraft just 18 days prior.[12]

The distance between the two airports is 1,605 nautical miles (2,972 km), slightly exceeding the specified range of the Avro RJ85, which is 1,600 nautical miles (2,963 km).[13] At 22:00 local time on 28 November (03:00 UTC, 29 November), the crew declared a electrical and fuel emergencies while flying in Colombian airspace between the municipalities of La Ceja and La Unión due to fuel exhaustion[14][3][15].

Helicopters from the Colombian Air Force were initially unable to get to the site because of heavy fog in the area,[1] while first aid workers arrived two hours after the crash to find debris strewn across an area about 100 metres (330 ft) in diameter.[16] It was not until 02:00 in the morning of 29 November that the first survivor arrived at the La Ceja hospital: Alan Ruschel, one of the members of the Chapecoense team.[16] Initially seven people survived, although one of them, first choice goalkeeper Danilo, died shortly after arriving to the hospital. The last survivor to be found was footballer Neto, who was discovered at 05:40.[17] Chapecoense reserve goalkeeper Jakson Follman who was among survivors later received a potentially life saving leg amputation surgery.[18] Including Danilo, 71 of the 77 occupants died as a result of the crash; the number of dead was initially thought to be 75 but it was later revealed that four people had not boarded the aircraft.[19]

Investigation

The Unidad Administrativa Especial de Aeronáutica Civil (UAEAC - Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics) is investigating the accident. Colombia's Aircraft Accident Investigation unit requested assistance from the aircraft's manufacturer BAE Systems and the British Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) as the investigative body of the state of the manufacturer. A team of three accident AAIB investigators was deployed.[20] They were joined by investigators from the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil of Bolivia.[21]

The Colombian Air Force extracted the bodies of all 71 victims from the accident wreckage and took them to an air force base, from where they were taken to the Instituto de Medicina Legal, in Medellín, for identification.[22]

The flight attendant who survived the accident stated that the aircraft ran out of fuel.[23] This is being investigated by the UAEAC.[24] Also, crews of other aircraft reported that they heard the pilot of Flight 2933 shouting over radio he was running out of fuel and needed to make an emergency landing.[25] The person in charge of the investigation stated that there "is no evidence of fuel in the aircraft". Emergency services reported that the aircraft did not catch fire, increasing the chances of survivors.[1]

On the afternoon of 29 November the CCAA reported that both flight recorders had been recovered and that they were in "perfect condition".[1]

Reactions

 

Brazilian and Mercosur flags at half staff at the National Congress Building in Brasília

Governmental

Brazilian President Michel Temer declared three days of national mourning and requested that personnel from the Brazilian embassy, in Bogotá, be moved to Medellín to better assist the survivors and the families of the victims.[26]

The United Kingdom, through its Foreign and Commonwealth Office, sent its condolences to those affected by the accident,[27] and sent a three-person team from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in order to assist in the investigation.[20]

All CONMEBOL-related activities were suspended, including both legs of the Copa Sudamericana final, scheduled for 30 November and 7 December,[28] and the second leg of the Copa do Brasil Final.[29] Besides changing their profile pictures on social media to a black version of Chapecoense's badge and issuing messages of solidarity,[30] other Brazilian teams offered to loan the club players for the next year[28] and asked the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) to exempt it from relegation for the next three years.[31] Also, Palmeiras that won the national league title sent a formal request to the CBF to pay tribute in the last fixture by wearing Chapecoense's jersey. Atlético Nacional, the final host team, asked CONMEBOL to honor Chapecoense by awarding them with the Copa Sudamericana title, stating that "for our part, and forever, Chapecoense are champions of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana".[32] The first response of the CONMEBOL regarding the request, in the words of its President Alejandro Dominguez when arriving in Medellín was: "It is very valuable. However, it is time to get to work, to talk with the Brazilian and Colombian counterparts, with those of Atletico Nacional. I am not in condition about the point. The gesture is praiseworthy. I did not have time to talk about it on the plane."[33]

There was a minute of silence before a EFL Cup quarter final match between Liverpool and Leeds at Anfield.[34] It was also announced that there would be a minute's silence before the 2016 FFA Cup Final in Melbourne, Australia on 30 November.[35]

Some football teams in South America, such as Racing Club de Avellaneda and Club Atlético Huracán in Argentina[36] and Club Nacional de Football in Uruguay,[37] announced that they would play their coming league fixtures with the crest of Chapecoense on their shirts as a tribute to Chapecoense after the tragedy.

The victims will also be honoured by a mass wake at Condá Arena stadium in Chapecó, the small Brazilian city in Santa Catarina state where Chapecoense is based.[38]

Other sports

There were also tributes in several games of the NBA.[39]

Airlines

Gustavo Vargas Gamboa, a director of the company, noted that pilot Miguel Alejandro Quiroga Murakami also was a part owner of the airline and that football clubs were among its most faithful clients.[40] He also noted that the airline only had 12 employees before the crash.

Avianca, Colombia's flag carrier and largest airline, provided 44 psychologists to help in the counseling of the families of the victims. The airline, by request of the Colombian and Brazilian governments, has also provided logistical support and transportation to Medellín of medical personnel from Brazil to help with the identification of the bodies.[41] On Twitter, Avianca regretted the incident and stated that "our prayers are with the families of the victims".[42]

Survivors

The surviving players were Alan Ruschel,[43] Jakson Follmann[44] (who had one of his legs amputated due to his injuries)[45] and Neto (who was only found at morning, being the last player rescued[46]).[17] The other survivors were a journalist, Rafael Henzel of Rádio Oeste, and two members of the flight crew: a flight attendant, Ximena Suárez, and a flight technician, Erwin Tumiri, both of Bolivian nationality.[44][47] In an interview with the press, the flight technician mentioned that he survived because he followed the emergency protocols by putting his baggage between his legs and sitting in brace position. He mentioned that several of the passengers were standing up when the accident occurred.[48] Team goalkeeper Danilo initially survived the crash, and was able to telephone his wife, but later died in hospital.[49][50]

Notable fatalities

Chapecoense players

Chapecoense staff

• Luiz Carlos Saroli (Caio Júnior), manager, 51[52][53]

Media

• Mário Sérgio Pontes de Paiva, Fox Sports commentator, former national team player and manager, 66[54]
• Deva Pascovicci (pt), Fox Sports commentator and announcer, 51[54]
• Paulo Julio Clement (pt), Fox Sports commentator, 51[54]
• Victorino Chermont (pt), Fox Sports reporter, 43[54]

Guest

• Delfim de Pádua Peixoto Filho (pt), CBF former vice-president, Federação Catarinense de Futebol president and former congressman, 72[55]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to LaMia Airlines Flight 2933.

Other aviation accidents involving sports teams

• 1993 Zambia national football team air disaster
• 1987 Alianza Lima air disaster
• 1979 Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collision
• 1972 Andes flight disaster
• 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl air disaster
• LAN Chile Flight 210, 1961
• Munich air disaster, 1958
• Superga air disaster, 1949
• Surinam Airways Flight 764, 1989

• List of accidents involving sports teams

References