Latinos and soccer fans around the world are crying rivers of green tears after the airplane crash in Colombia that killed 71 people, including the players of the Brazilian team Chapecoense, the unlikely heroes of the South American championship they were so close to winning. A deadly accident is always horrible, but the circumstances–maybe the borderline criminal actions–surrounding this one are appalling and heartbreaking.
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Chapecoense were going as the underdog to a big soccer final.
Brazilian team Chapecoense had risen from obscurity to make it to the Copa Sudamericana finals scheduled for Wednesday, November 30, against powerhouse Colombian team Atlético Nacional.
The team changed their travel plans at the last minute.
The team was supposed to go from the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo to Medellín, Colombia in a bigger plane, but the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil didn't authorize the flight to Colombia, so they stopped in Bolivia's Santa Cruz de la Sierra to board a smaller plane from the Bolivian charter company LaMia.
That plane was too small for the route.
According to different aircraft experts, the LaMia plane the team was traveling on had overextended the flight limit.There is also a recording of the pilot talking to the control tower revealing lack of fuel and finally an electricity problem.
Another indicator seems to be the fact that the plane didn't explode when it crashed. One of the spokespeople of the company confirmed that the plane didn't landed to refuel, as they needed.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/29/americas/colombia-plane-crash-investigation/
Perhaps to hide that bad decision, the pilot made a fatal mistake.
There is a recording of an Avianca pilot who was in a plane nearby, waiting to land in Medellín, that reveals how LaMia's pilot Miguel Quiroga didn't declare he had an emergency until the last minute. If he had, the control tower would have given his plane priority to land.
The team was from a very small Brazilian city.
"It was South America's Cinderella–no one could have predicted this macabre ending," said Argentinian sport journalist Martín Mazur. The Chapecoense was from Chapecó, a small city in the south of Brazil, home to 210,000 people.
In the last five years, it had managed to go from the "D" to the "A" league. Being from such a small town, everyone knows somebody linked to the team–a family member, a friend of a friend. Chapecó is in mourning and the world mourns with them.
The final death tally.
According to the latest reports, 71 people lost their lives and only five survived. Only one of the survivors is in stable condition.
Of the fatal victims, 22 were journalists, 19 soccer players, family members and the managers and staff of the team. The pilot and copilot also died in the crash.
This player's last phone call will break you.
Goalkeeper Marcos Danilo Padilha was found alive and managed to make a phone call to his wife Leticia to tell he was alive. The 31-year-old player died soon after and the family was notified about three hours later. The couple had a 2-year-old boy.
Can you imagine the pain?
The survivors' stories are incredible.
Crew member Erwin Tumir, one of the five survivors, told Colombia TV: "I saved myself because I followed the emergency protocol, putting bags between my legs and put myself in the fetal position … I also saw how many passengers rose and began to scream."
Flight attendant Ximena Suárez described the terrifying last moments before the crash. "The lights went off suddenly and 40 or 50 seconds later there was a big crash," she told Luis Pérez, the governor of the state of Antioquia, where Medellín is.
Other survivors are journalist Rafael Valmorbida and players Alan Ruschel, Jakson Follman and Hélio Neto.
There have been heartfelt tributes around the world.
As every person who loves soccer knows: There is nothing that unites the world as the love for this sport. The tragedy of the Chapecoense has been felt everywhere. The world's biggest soccer athletes have expressed their condolences.
"Brazilian football is in mourning. It is such a tragic loss. My sincere condolences to the families of the deceased. Rest in peace," Brazilian soccer legend Pelé wrote on Twitter.
"Sadly those guys, who were on the way to becoming a force in soccer, boarded the wrong plane,” Argentine star Diego Armando Maradona wrote on Facebook.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi posted on Facebook: "My deepest condolences go to all of the families, friends and supporters of the Associação Chapecoense de Futebol squad. #FuerzaChape."
Neymar, Brazil's biggest star, just posted a photo of the team logo on his social media accounts.
Even Guns N' Roses made a tribute for the team.
The band merged it's logo and team's in a video published in their Facebook page, with the music of "Knocking of Heaven's Doors".
What's next?
There are many tributes planned for the rest of the week and the Atlético Nacional, the team the Chapecoense was going to play in Medellín, has asked that the Copa Sudamericana be given to the fallen Brazilian team.
I just hope there are serious consecuences for the airline owners and anybody involved in this horrible tragedy. #forçachape
