São Paulo, Brazil – Businesswoman Maria de Fátima Albuquerque lost her only daughter, Dr. Arianne Risso, when the Voepass Airlines ATR-72 she was traveling in crashed Friday in Vinhedo, Brazil, killing 57 other passengers and four crew members.
Risso was doing her residency in oncology at the Cancer Hospital in Cascavel, in the south of the country, from where the flight left for 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 said Brazil reports.
She is in São Paulo, along with the families of other victims, awaiting the identification process of her daughter. Since there was an explosion when the plane hit the ground, it may take several days to identify some of the victims. So far, of the 62 victims, only 17 have been identified – and only eight bodies have been released for burial and burial.
Since the families arrived in São Paulo, Albuquerque has become a kind of spokesperson for them, passing information to the local press and demanding a strong 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 has run away, she will not return. My life ended today. I will make this cause the fight of my life so that commercial airliner crashes never happen again,” she added. She is calling for a full inspection of Brazilian commercial planes, which carry thousands of people every day.
Read more: Brazilian authorities focus on identifying bodies and investigating plane crash that killed 62 people
After the Voepass plane crashed on Friday, videos began circulating on social media complaining of problems on the same plane, such as a video taken the day before the crash showing passengers feeling unwell and cold due to a problem with conditioning.
In addition, there are reports from former Voepass employees of alleged maintenance failures on the aircraft. The airline denies any wrongdoing and assures that the aircraft was up-to-date and in full working order. The authorities have found the black boxes of the plane and have already started the analysis to determine the cause of the crash.
But the feeling between the families is one of anger. “My daughter died of neglect and neglect. It was a disaster waiting to happen; that plane was going to crash in a moment. Now we need a task force to prevent new tragedies,” said Albuquerque.
“I am shocked, this pain will last for the rest of my life. But I will not stop fighting; otherwise, we will continue to lose our children, our loved ones,” she added.
Jairo Thé Maia, the brother of sales representative Constantino Thé Maia, who was returning from a work event on the Voepass flight, also called for a full investigation into the crash. He hopes the conclusion of the investigation will bring some comfort to the family.
“It would bring me peace of mind if it really 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 will not consider it an accidental death,” he said. Brazil reports.
The Brazilian Air Force, in charge of the investigation along with the Federal Police, has no deadline for completing the work, but hopes to submit a preliminary report within 30 days. Meanwhile, the victims’ families continue to receive psychological and legal support, mainly in Sao Paulo.
