The final words of the pilot of the doomed flight carrying Brazilian football team Chapecoense have revealed that the plane had run out of fuel and was suffering from a total electric failure. The plane lost radar contact just before 10pm local time on Monday, shortly after pilot Miguel Alejandro Quiroga Murakami informed air traffic controllers of the emergency situation.
It was revealed the plane made it to its destination, Jose Maria Cordova International airport, but by the time the pilot, Miguel Quiroga, began to beg for a chance to land, another plane, VivaColombia flight FC8170, had already started its landing after reporting an issue in the cabin, 9news.com.au reports.
In the leaked audio, the co-pilot of an Avianca flight which was nearby at the time, Juan Sebastián Upegui, described an exchange he heard between Mr Quiroga, and the control tower at the airport.
“We request priority to proceed to the runway, we request priority to proceed to the locator. We have fuel problems,” he quotes the LaMia pilot as saying. The plane then dropped 9000 feet through the air before Mr Quiroga began to beg with the control tower, “Now we have a total electric failure, we have a total electric failure. Help — we need vectors to approach the runway”.
Mr Upegui who is one the six survivors of the crash said he sat in the cockpit of the Avianca plane, praying for the LaMia plane to make it. “I was saying ‘Do it, do it — land,” he said in the audio clip.
He said the LaMia pilot made one final plea, his voice breaking, before going silent, and the Avianca crew began to cry. Avianca, a Colombian airline, confirmed the audio “belongs to an Avianca crew member. However, as it is a personal opinion, Avianca cannot give any opinion on its content”.
The heartbreaking videos emerged yesterday of members of Brazil’s Chapecoense soccer team beginning their journey to Colombia. "It's going to begin. Our trip is going to begin. Our trip to Colombia is going to begin!" Chapecoense defender Filipe Machado, 32, says in the video.
"Where are we going to go after? Cadu?" he asks another member of the group.
The plane was carrying 77 people, including 21 members of the Chapecoense football team. The team was set to play in the final of the Copa Sudamericana, one of South America’s most prestigious competitions. In total, only six people survived the crash.
May their souls rest in the peace of the Lord, Amen.
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