Voepass Falsified Aircraft Repairs to Evade Safety Deadlines, Report Finds

A final report from Brazil's Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (Cenipa) reveals that Voepass allegedly faked aircraft repairs to circumvent safety regulations. The investigation into the crash of Voepass flight 2283, which resulted in 62 fatalities in Vinhedo, São Paulo, in August 2024, found that the airline masked chronic technical issues by falsely registering repairs. This practice allowed aircraft with known degraded conditions to operate beyond regulatory time limits. Voepass, in a statement, maintained that flight 2283's crew was experienced and trained, asserted adherence to international safety standards, and pledged continued transparency with Cenipa's investigation. The National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) noted that Cenipa's findings are preventive and aim to enhance aviation safety through proposed measures, which will be reviewed within four months. The report details how Voepass exploited rules allowing temporary operation with certain faults, recorded in the Minimum Equipment List (MEL). For instance, a de-icing system failure could permit up to three days of operation before mandatory repair, with restrictions on flying in icy conditions. Cenipa discovered Voepass would register a fault, falsely report its fix to reset the deadline, and then re-register the recurring issue as a new problem. While the report does not specifically link this practice to the components on the crashed aircraft, whose MEL items were within their allowed periods, it highlights that the aircraft involved had unrecorded de-icing system failures prior to the accident. These omissions prevented the tracking of repair deadlines and the implementation of safety protocols. An ex-employee corroborated that a de-icing system fault was omitted from the logbook hours before the fatal flight, which would have grounded the plane. An audio recording also surfaced of a maintenance employee advising a pilot not to log a flight issue to prevent the aircraft from being taken out of service. Cenipa described this informal process as pressure on pilots to avoid reporting discrepancies that could lead to extended aircraft downtime. This behavior, according to a former Brazilian Air Force colonel and aviation specialist, constitutes a "normalization of deviation," where errors become habitual due to a permissive environment. The report also indicated that Anac was aware of Voepass's de-icing system problems between 2022 and 2024, issuing multiple notifications and conducting audits, yet identified risks persisted. Despite Voepass replacing de-icing boots in early 2024, issues continued. Cenipa recommended Anac improve its mechanisms for identifying companies with recurring safety problems, implement more effective measures against irregularities, and strengthen oversight to prevent similar practices. Anac suspended Voepass operations in March 2025 and permanently revoked its operating certificate in June 2025.