Court orders Brazilian airline to pay pension to widower of flight attendant killed in horror plane crash
A court has ordered the airlines Voepass and Latam to pay a pension to the widower of a flight attendant who died in a horror plane crash that killed four crew and 58 passengers.
Debora Soper Avila died when Voepass ATR-72's flight 2283 crashed in Vinhedo, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in August.
The plane crash has been described as the worst in the history of Brazilian aviation since the TAM crash in 2007 at Congonhas Airport that left 199 people dead.
The young woman had described herself as "passionate about aviation" and had been working at Voepass since March 2023. She died when the plane that was travelling from Cascavel to Guarulhos crashed.
According to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), the flight was normal until 1.20 pm, but from 1.21 pm onwards the aircraft did not respond to calls from the Sao Paulo tower, nor did it declare an emergency or report being in adverse weather conditions.
In September, the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Centre (CENIPA) said that the pilots had commented on a problem with the anti-icing system at the beginning of the flight.
Air Brigadier Marcelo Moreno, head of the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Section said: "What we have so far is that there was a statement extracted from the cockpit by one of the crew members indicating that there was a failure in the De-Icing system [anti-icing]. However, this was not confirmed by the flight data recorder (FDR)."
The investigation into the deadly crash is still ongoing, with the CENIPA yet to deliver its final report.
Meanwhile, the Labour Court in Ribeirao Preto, also in Sao Paulo, has ordered airlines Voepass and Latam to pay the monthly amount of BRL 4,089.97 (GBP 558.69), which is two-thirds of the flight attendant's salary, to her widower, Marcus Vinicius Avila Sant'Anna, starting in January 2025.
Latam was held liable because flight 2283 was operated under a codeshare agreement. This system is used by airlines through route-sharing agreements for destinations they do not serve directly, integrating these segments into their networks. The ruling is not yet legally binding and can be appealed. If they do not comply, local media said the airlines would face fines.
Story: NewsX