Brazilian Soccer Plane Crash

[rowan]

Great shame this plane crash in South America, including the entire first division team of Brazilian club Chapecoense, who were on their way to play a Copa Sudamerica match in Medellin, Colombia. 75 people killed in total.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/worl ... /94585124/

It recalls the 1993 Gabon Air Disaster when a Zambian Air Force plane carrying the national team to Senegal for a World Cup qualifier plunged into the ocean, killing all 30 passengers, including the entire team and management. This was considered to have been a Zambian team of real promise, with many of the players having graduated from the 1988 Olympic squad which thrashed Italy 4-0 in Seoul. Even after the crash Zambia only missed out on the 1994 World Cup after conceding a late goal to Nigeria in their ultimate qualifying match (and that was a Nigerian team which would cruise through to the 2nd round at the tournament proper with a 3-0 win over subsequent semi-finalists Bulgaria and a 2-0 victory over Greece, before losing to subsequent finalists Italy in extra time).

Incidentally, I met the Corinthians team at Sao Paulo Airport during my travels in South America a few years ago. Nice guys. Very down-to-earth...

[rowan]

Ran out of petrol, would you believe it. I think that was also what caused the Gabon Air Disaster in '93. Somehow you'd think they would have figured this all out beforehand...

http://tr.euronews.com/2016/11/30/kolom ... -uzman-bir

[rowan]

Wow, air traffic control refused to allow the plane to make an emergency landing even as it was running out of fuel. What a horror story this is...

Doomed Colombia crash plane had been flying for 20 minutes longer than its four hour fuel capacity BEFORE it was told to circle as it is revealed desperate pilot pleaded with air traffic control for help as he declared 'We're going down'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z4S0NIbz5L
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[WaspInWales]

That's unbelievable if true.

I expect we'll have to wait a while before the truth eventually comes out.

I realise that this is entirely in bad taste but is it too soon/too late for a 'would you' thread for the co-pilot Sisy Arias???

[bruce]

That's unbelievable if true.

I expect we'll have to wait a while before the truth eventually comes out.

I realise that this is entirely in bad taste but is it too soon/too late for a 'would you' thread for the co-pilot Sisy Arias???

Never to soon, and yes.

When I first heard about this story, I did question when did Sheffield Wednesday become a Brazilian football team and what were they doing in Colombia. #RIP Owls.

[rowan]

Definitely beginning to look like this tragedy could have easily have been averted, however. Some real incompetency at play here, from the club that hired this low-budget charter airline, to the company who hired this clown of a pilot, to the clown of a pilot for cutting it so close with the fuel capacity, and with the air traffic control staff for denying permission to make an emergency landing. Just who comes out of it looking like the major culprit remains to be seen, but I suspect it will be the pilot . . .

[rowan]

Turns out the charter company involved, LaMia, was Bolivian and heavily in debt. The CEO and two employees have been detained for questioning, while Bolivian air traffic controller Celia Castelo - who apparently warned the pilot he was pushing the limits of the plane's maximum flight time, has sought asylum in Brazil after being accused of negligence. Those arrested could face charges as serious as manslaughter. One of the few survivors has spoken to the press, stating the passengers had no idea about the problem until the final seconds, and thought they were descending for a regulation landing. Meanwhile the Chapecoense club has been awarded the Copa SudAmerica championship by the governing body, which means the club qualifies directly for next year's prestigious Copa Libertadores tournament.

[rowan]

A little good news anyway: Chapecoense' new manager is former national team player and Santos boss Vagner Mancini. Meanwhile, the club has been invited to play in a tournament in Barcelona next year.

[rowan]

Another tragedy in the soccer world:


At least 30 people have drowned after a boat carrying a football team and their fans capsized on Lake Albert in Uganda, police say.
The overcrowded vessel was carrying some 45 people. Police say the boat became unbalanced when too many passengers moved to one side.
Nine deaths have been confirmed and 15 people have been rescued, reports say.
Boat accidents are fairly common on Lake Albert and in other parts of Africa.
Vessels are often packed with too many people and goods, and in a poor state.

http://www.briefreport.co.uk/news/ugand ... 38552.html

[rowan]

Brought a tear to the eye . . .

[rowan]

Nowhere near as tragic, but this is also a shame:

Organisers promised the Rio de Janeiro Olympics would bring long-term benefits to the Brazilian city and its residents.

Yet six months on, the famed Maracanã stadium lies abandoned and the Olympic pool is empty apart from puddles of stagnant water.

The roar of the crowd, gold medal winning glory…It is all but a distant memory.

The mythical Maracanã, site of the opening and closing ceremonies, is inaccessible to tourists, its iconic pitch giving way to dirt and scrub.

Electricity was cut recently amid a dispute between those in charge.

“It is a waste,” said one man outside the stadium.

“A lot of money was invested and it is not benefitting the population.”

Another man said he felt sadness and disappointment, accusing the government of corruption.

Officials blame delays and disrepair on a series of factors, from Brazil’s continuing recession to disagreements with contractors and a change in mayors after elections in October.

“What really happened was that the local government changed, there were agreements with private entities that did not work out, promises that never came to pass but they will,” said Patricia Amorim, the Under Secretary for Sport of Rio’s city government,

In the meantime, the multi-billion euro legacy of South America’s first ever Olympics remains distinctly bitter sweet.


http://www.euronews.com/2017/02/17/six- ... e-derelict

I saw the Maracana on my visit to Rio five years ago but couldn't enter because of the re-construction going on at the time.

[WaspInWales]

Shocking!

[rowan]

Seems a bit odd though. Surely they could get football teams playing there. A quick google tells me 3 of the 4 1st division teams in Rio are playing in 20K stadiums, while the Maracana sits idle, used only as a national stadium.

[WaspInWales]

Seems a bit odd though. Surely they could get football teams playing there. A quick google tells me 3 of the 4 1st division teams in Rio are playing in 20K stadiums, while the Maracana sits idle, used only as a national stadium.

What are you suggesting?

To me, it seems like a massive failure and or rip off of public resources. Maybe all the money earmarked to continue the Rio legacy has been pocketed by politicians and others and now that the attention has gone from Rio, people can get away with it.

[rowan]

Seems a bit odd though. Surely they could get football teams playing there. A quick google tells me 3 of the 4 1st division teams in Rio are playing in 20K stadiums, while the Maracana sits idle, used only as a national stadium.

What are you suggesting?

To me, it seems like a massive failure and or rip off of public resources. Maybe all the money earmarked to continue the Rio legacy has been pocketed by politicians and others and now that the attention has gone from Rio, people can get away with it.

Sure, I just thought the'd have a long-term strategy or something. Silly me ...