Interactive: The Chapecoense aircraft crashed because it ran out of fuel while waiting to land
The last minutes of flight LMI 2933
The aircraft approached the destination airport and began to descend for landing around 9:41 p.m. (local time). The last minutes of the flight were registered in the recording of conversations between LaMia’s pilot and a female air traffic controller [IN SPANISH].
Insufficient fuel for the journey
According to some specialized websites, the doomed plane had an approximate range of 1,842 miles (2,965 km), 6 miles (10 km) less than what was needed to complete the journey from the airport at Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia) to José María Cordova (Colombia), which is 1,849 miles (2,975 km).
Avro RJ85
Fuel tank
An officer present at the scene said that "it didn’t even smell like gasoline."
Avro RJ85
Fuel tank
An officer present at the scene said that "it didn’t even smell like gasoline."
An officer present at the scene said that "it didn’t even smell like gasoline."
Avro RJ85
Fuel tank
An officer present at the scene said that "it didn’t even smell like gasoline."
Avro RJ85
Fuel tank
The plane should have made a refueling stopover
A representative from LaMia, the company which owns the plane, told Página Siete [IN SPANISH] newspaper that the pilot should have made stops in Cobija (Bolivia) or Bogotá to refuel.
0 mi
Departure
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Avro RJ85
Cobija
592.8 mi (954 km)
The plane went down 8.2 miles (15 km) from the runway due to lack of fuel.
Bogotá
1,718 mi
(2,765 km)
1,849 mi
(2,975 km)
Destination
Medellín
Approximate distances (calculated in a straight line).
0 mi
Departure
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Avro RJ85
Cobija
592.8 mi (954 km)
The plane went down 8.2 miles (15 km) from the runway due to lack of fuel.
Bogotá
1,718 mi (2,765 km)
1,849 m
(2,975 km)
Destination
Medellín
Approximate distances (calculated in a straight line).
The plane went down 8.2 miles (15 km) from the runway due to lack of fuel.
Departure
Destination
Avro RJ85
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Medellín
1,849 mi (2,975 km)
0 mi
Bogotá
Cobija
592.8 mi (954 km)
1,718 mi (2,765 km)
Approximate distances (calculated in a straight line).
The plane went down 8.2 miles (15 km) from the runway due to lack of fuel.
Departure
Destination
Avro RJ85
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Medellín
1,849 mi (2,975 km)
0 mi
Bogotá
Cobija
592.8 mi (954 km)
1,718 mi (2,765 km)
Approximate distances (calculated in a straight line).
The original plan of the Chapeconense Brazilian football team was to fly directly from Brazil to Colombia on a chartered flight. Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) did not authorize it. The Chapecoense team then changed their plans and flew to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, where they took the LaMia flight.
Accident
About 8.2 miles (15 km) south of Medellín.
Destination
Medellín
500 km
250 mi
Bogotá
COLOMBIA
BRAZIL
Cobija
BOLIVIA
Rio de Janeiro
Departure
Santa Cruz
de la Sierra
The aircraft was a 17-year old Avro 146-RJ85 with capacity for 112 people.
Accident
About 8.2 miles (15 km) south of Medellín.
Destination
Medellín
500 km
250 mi
Bogotá
COLOMBIA
BRAZIL
Cobija
BOLIVIA
Departure
Rio de Janeiro
Santa Cruz
de la Sierra
The aircraft was a 17-year old Avro 146-RJ85 with capacity for 112 people.
VENEZUELA
Destination
Bogotá
Medellín
COLOMBIA
Accident
About 8.2 miles (15 km) south of Medellín.
PERÚ
BRAZIL
Cobija
La Paz
BOLIVIA
Departure
Santa Cruz
de la Sierra
500 km
Rio de Janeiro
250 mi
The aircraft was a 17-year old Avro 146-RJ85 with capacity for 112 people.
VENEZUELA
Destination
Bogotá
Medellín
COLOMBIA
The aircraft was a 17-year old Avro 146-RJ85 with capacity for 112 people.
Accident
About 8.2 miles (15 km) south of Medellín.
PERÚ
BRAZIL
Cobija
BOLIVIA
La Paz
Departure
Santa Cruz
de la Sierra
500 km
Rio de Janeiro
250 mi
Juan Jesús Gómez Hinestrosa contributed to this report.
SOURCES: Flightradar24, O Globo, El Tiempo, Airliners.net.
IMAGES: Google Earth.