Data from flight tracking websites shows the aircraft descending at over 17,000 feet per minute during the final moments of its flight after momentarily climbing at over 20,000feet per minute.
VoePass is a Brazilian regional airline and operates a fleet of 15 aircraft, all manufactured by ATR on domestic routes to and from various airports in Brazil.
In a briefing Friday afternoon, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said, “I have to be the bearer of really bad news,” and called for a minute of silence to honor the 58 passengers and four crew members in the plane crash in Vinhedo, a city in the Sao Paulo region. The cause of the crash was unknown, he said.