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

SAO PAULO (AP) — 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.

Firefighters and rescue teams work at the site in a residential area where an airplane with 61 people on board crashed the previous day in Vinhedo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Firefighters and rescue workers work in the debris at the site where an airplane with 61 people on board crashed in Vinhedo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, Saturday Aug. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Firefighters and rescue workers work in the debris at the site where an airplane with 61 people on board crashed in Vinhedo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, Saturday Aug. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

The debris at the site where an airplane crashed with 61 people on board, in Vinhedo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, early on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. Brazilian authorities are working to piece together what exactly caused the plane crash in Sao Paulo state the previous day, killing all 61 people aboard. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Thalita Valente Machado, bottom center, leaves Penha Cemetery after burying her husband Danilo Santos Romano in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. Romano was the pilot of the plane that crashed into the backyard of a home in the city of Vinhedo on Aug. 9. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Friends and relatives of Danilo Santos Romano leave Penha Cemetery after his burial in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. Romano was the pilot of the plane that crashed into the backyard of a home in the city of Vinhedo on Aug. 9. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

The coffin of Danilo Santos Romano, 35, is taken to his burial site at Penha Cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. Romano was the pilot of the plane that crashed into the backyard of a home in the city of Vinhedo on Aug. 9. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorized its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them.

Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded almost simultaneously Tuesday across Lebanon and in parts of Syria, killing at least nine people, government and Hezbollah officials said. Officials pointed the finger at Israel in what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack. The Israeli military declined to comment.

Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire daily, coming close to a full-blown war on several occasions and forcing tens of thousands on both sides of the border to evacuate their homes.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little over half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Here's the latest:

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says four soldiers were killed in southern Gaza and five others were wounded, with three of them in serious condition.

The deaths on Tuesday came nearly a year into the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The army did not describe the circumstances, but Israeli media reported that the soldiers were killed by a hidden bomb that exploded inside a building.

One of the four, Staff Sgt. Agam Naim, an army paramedic, was the first female soldier to have been killed in combat in Gaza, according to Israeli media.

Hamas and other armed groups remain active across the territory despite months of heavy Israeli bombardment and ground operations that have destroyed vast areas and displaced most of the population.

Israel says 346 of its soldiers have been killed since the start of ground operations last October. The military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorized its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them.

Pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded near-simultaneously Tuesday in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least nine people, including an 8-year-old girl, and wounding more than 2,000. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack.

The AR-924 pagers used by the militants were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, based in Hungary’s capital, according to a statement released Wednesday by Gold Apollo.

“According to the cooperation agreement, we authorize BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,” the statement read.

Gold Apollo chair Hsu Ching-kuang told journalists Wednesday that his company has had a licensing agreement with BAC for the past three years, but did not provide evidence of the contract.

The AR-924 pager, advertised as being “rugged,” contains a rechargeable lithium battery, according to specifications once advertised on Gold Apollo’s website before it was apparently taken down Tuesday after the sabotage attack. It could receive text messages of up to 100 characters and claimed to have up to 85 days of battery life. That’s something that would be crucial in Lebanon, where electricity outages have been common as the tiny nation on the Mediterranean Sea has faced years of economic collapse. Pagers also run on a different wireless network than mobile phones, making them more resilient in emergencies — one of the reasons why many hospitals worldwide still rely on them.

FILE - Israeli soldiers move next to destroyed buildings following Israeli strikes during a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)

Civil Defense first-responders carry a man who was wounded after his handheld pager exploded, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024.(AP Photo)

People gather outside the American University hospital after the arrival of several people who were wounded by exploding handheld pagers, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Palestinians in Lebanon wave their national flags during a protest in front of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People gather around an ambulance carrying wounded people whose handheld pager exploded, at the emergency entrance of the American University hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

The supermoon rises behind the houses in Mas'ade, a village in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A Lebanese Red Cross volunteer collects blood donations for those who were injured by their exploded handheld pagers, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, at a Red Cross center in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)