São Paulo, Brazil – Businesswoman Maria de Fátima Albuquerque lost her only daughter, Dr. Arianne Risso, when the Voepass Airlines ATR-72 aircraft she was traveling in on Friday crashed in Vinhedo, Brazil, killing 57 other passengers and four crew.
Risso was doing her residency in oncology at the Cancer Hospital in Cascavel, in the south of the country, from where the flight departed to São Paulo. She was traveling to attend an oncology conference. “My daughter has wanted to be a doctor since she was nine years old. Her life’s dream was to save lives,” Albuquerque told Brazil Reports.
She is in São Paulo, along with the other victims’ families, awaiting the process of identifying her daughter. Since there was an explosion when the plane hit the ground, identifying some of the victims might take a few days. So far, out of the 62 victims, only 17 have been identified – and only eight bodies have been released for funeral and burial.
Since the families arrived in São Paulo, Albuquerque has become a sort of spokesperson for them, passing information to the local press and demanding a firm and serious investigation by the authorities. “I don’t want any other mother to go through what I’m going through,” she said.
“My daughter is gone, she’s not coming back. My life ended today. I will make this cause my life’s fight, so that commercial plane crashes do not happen again,” she added. She’s calling for a thorough inspection of Brazilian commercial aircraft, which transport thousands of people daily.
Read more: Brazilian authorities focus on identifying bodies and investigating plane crash that killed 62
Following the Voepass plane crash on Friday, videos began circulating on social media with complaints about problems on the same aircraft, such as a video taken a day before the accident that shows passengers feeling unwell and fanning themselves due to an air conditioning problem.
In addition, there are reports from former Voepass employees about alleged maintenance failures on the aircraft. The airline denies any irregularities and assures that the plane was up to date and in full operating condition. Authorities have recovered the plane’s black boxes and have already begun the analysis to determine the cause of the crash.
But the feeling amongst the families is one of outrage. “My daughter died due to negligence and disregard. It was a disaster waiting to happen; that plane was going to crash at some point. Now we need a task force to prevent new tragedies,” said Albuquerque.
“I’m shattered, this pain will last for the rest of my life. But I won’t stop fighting; otherwise, we’ll keep losing our children, our loved ones,” she added.
Jairo Thé Maia, brother of sales representative Constantino Thé Maia, who was returning from a work event on the Voepass flight, also demanded a thorough investigation into the crash. He hopes the investigation’s conclusion will bring some comfort to the family.
“It would bring me peace of mind if it truly was an accident. Accidents happen every day, but if this plane crash was caused by incompetence, negligence, or lack of maintenance, then for me, I won’t consider it an accidental death,” he told Brazil Reports.
The Brazilian Air Force, responsible for the investigation along with the Federal Police, has no deadline to complete the work but hopes to present a preliminary report within 30 days. Meanwhile, the victims’ families continue to receive psychological and legal support, mainly in São Paulo.
