Brazil buries pilot who died in plane crash that killed 62, as questions remain about its cause

SAO PAULO -- The pilot of the plane that crashed down in Brazil last week was buried Monday in Sao Paulo, becoming the first person laid to rest among the 62 victims, as authorities continue working to determine what exactly caused the accident.

A hearse bearing the casket of Danilo Santos Romano rolled through the streets of Penha, a working class neighborhood of Sao Paulo’s east side, en route to the cemetery that lies beneath his apartment. Family members and friends walked behind the vehicle and dozens of shop owners who knew him as a regular customer gathered on the sidewalks to applaud as it passed. Romano was 35.

Clesio Moura, one of the applauding shopkeepers, said he met the pilot two years ago.

“He had lived abroad, worked for foreign companies, but was always humble," Moura said. "We used to chat about soccer, he really wanted to have a child to take to the stadium one day. Danilo was full of life.”

The crash Friday killed 58 passengers and four crew members. Footage of the plane plunging while in a flat spin horrified people around the world, and the cause of the accident has yet to be determined. Some experts have pointed to the possibility of severe icing on the wings, which caused pilots to lose control of the plane, but airports minister Silvio Costa Filho told reporters Friday that Romano and his copilot made no calls for an emergency landing, nor did they communicate any adverse weather conditions.

They were flying the ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop for local airline Voepass, headed for the Guarulhos international airport, but the plane plunged from the sky in the nearby city of Vinhedo. Romano had just finished his first full year as commander for Voepass, which hired him as a copilot in November 2022, the airline told the AP in a statement. It added Romano had logged 5,202 hours flying for Voepass, all in ATRs. It is the only type of plane the company owns.

Romano's widow, Thalita Valente Machado, didn’t speak to journalists gathered outside the ceremony, but provided a letter with a list of the people and organizations she wished to thank.

“We want to give a very special thanks to his flight partner Humberto de Campos Alencar e Silva, who fought together with Danilo," her letter said. “We are sure they did everything possible and that they are heroes.”

Romano’s burial followed a wake at a basilica Monday morning. One of the pilot’s heroes, the former goalkeeper for Brazil’s national soccer team and World Cup winner Marcos, was in attendance. Two of Romano’s friends told the AP that during the ceremony his 30-year-old widow repeatedly said “I lost a part of myself.”

Romano's body was the first to be released by Sao Paulo's morgue after the crash. The morgue began receiving corpses Friday evening, and asked victims’ relatives to bring in medical, X-ray and dental records to help identify them. As of Monday evening, forensic experts had identified 17 bodies and returned eight to victims' relatives, Sao Paulo state's government said.

Meanwhile in Cascavel, the city from which the doomed flight departed, more than a dozen families are awaiting the remains of their loved ones. Mayor Leonaldo Paranhos said on his social media channels that the city will make a conference center available should anyone wish to hold a collective wake in the space.

“We are still waiting for information from Sao Paulo's morgue, which is still working to identify the bodies and communicate with the families,” Paranhos said. “Voepass will be responsible for sending the remains to their destinations.”

Authorities recovered both the plane’s “black boxes” — one with flight data and the other with cockpit audio — that are key to determining what exactly went awry. The air force’s center for the investigation and prevention of air accidents began analyzing them at its laboratory in the nation’s capital, Brasilia, and said it will issue a preliminary report within 30 days. Minister Costa Filho said the center was also opening a criminal probe.

Voepass and French-Italian plane manufacturer ATR are collaborating with the investigations, they said in separate statements.