Brazilian Congress creates committee on Voepass crash investigation

By Gabriel Araujo

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazil's lower house of Congress on Tuesday created a committee to monitor investigations into an aircraft crash in Sao Paulo state earlier this month, in which all 62 passengers and crew were killed.

The ATR 72-500 plane operated by regional carrier Voepass was bound for Sao Paulo's Guarulhos airport from Cascavel, in the southern state of Parana, when it crashed in Vinhedo, some 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Sao Paulo, on Aug. 9.

Lower House Speaker Arthur Lira had authorized the creation of the 37-person committee last week so lawmakers can monitor progress on the investigation, which is being carried out by aviation accident investigation center Cenipa.

The committee on Tuesday voted on the first invitees to speak before the group, including top airline executives, investigators and representatives for airplane manufacturer ATR, a joint venture between Airbus and Leonardo.

"Our intention is not to carry out a witch hunt," Congressman Nelsinho Padovani, who will be in charge of writing the final report with the committee's conclusions, told Reuters. "We want to propose measures so it does not happen again."

Among those the lawmakers plan to hear are Voepass President Jose Luiz Felicio Filho, Cenipa head Marcelo Moreno and the head of Brazil's civil aviation regulator ANAC, Tiago Sousa Pereira.

The committee approved inviting all of them to hearings, as well as Roberto Alvo, the chief executive of LATAM Airlines.

The local unit of Chile-based LATAM is Brazil's No.1 carrier and has a codeshare agreement with Voepass, a type of deal that allows airlines to sell seats on each other's flights.

A spokesperson for ATR said: "We continue to follow the situation carefully and our teams are on location with French teams to support the Brazilian investigation."

LATAM declined to comment, while Voepass did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As per lower house rules, those invited are not obliged to appear before the committee.

Padovani's initial expectation is for hearings to last until December and the report to be concluded by February, he said. Cenipa will release its own preliminary report about the crash on Sept. 6.

Some experts have cited ice on the wings as a possible contributor to the crash, as warning notices were issued that day for severe icing in the region.

There have been multiple cases where pilots lost control of an ATR plane following reports of the formation of ice on the aircraft.

The lawmakers also plan to visit Voepass' maintenance hub in Sao Paulo state and examine the codeshare agreement between Voepass and LATAM, Padovani said.

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by David Holmes and Aurora Ellis)