Owner of Voepass and 11 Others Indicted for Plane Crash That Departed from Paraná

The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) filed a complaint against the owner of Voepass, José Luiz Felício Filho, and 11 other people for acidente aéreo, which killed 62 people in August 2024. The plane had taken off from Cascavel, in the west of Paraná, bound for Guarulhos, in São Paulo, when it fell in the municipality of Vinhedo (SP).

The 12 accused are accused of attacking the security of air transport. According to the MPF, the investigations identified problems in the maintenance of the aircraft and in the management of operational safety of the company, which would have contributed to the tragedy.

The complaint was referred to the 9th Federal Court of Campinas, in the interior of São Paulo. Among the defendants are directors, managers, maintenance professionals and those responsible for the company’s flight operations.

MPF points to failures in Voepass maintenance and safety

According to the complaint, the accident was not caused by an isolated technical failure, but by a sequence of problems related to the preventive maintenance and safety procedures of the airline. The Public Prosecutor’s Office maintains that there were recurring failures in the recording of technical problems of the aircraft, especially in the system responsible for preventing the accumulation of ice during flights.

The prosecution also points out that administrative and financial decisions would have compromised maintenance procedures and contributed to the exposure of passengers and crew to risk situations. Among those reported are José Luiz Felício Filho, owner of Voepass, and professionals who held management positions in the areas of operations, engineering, maintenance and operational security.

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The MPF assigns individual responsibilities to those involved, considering the functions exercised by each in the airline and the conducts identified during the investigations.

Remember the accident that killed 62 people

The tragedy occurred on August 9, 2024, when Voepass flight 2283, operated by an ATR 72-500 aircraft, left Cascavel Airport for Guarulhos International Airport. During the journey, the plane lost altitude and crashed into a residential area of Vineyard, inside São Paulo.

The 62 people on board were killed, 58 passengers and four crew members. No survivors. The technical investigations identified problems related to the formation of ice in the aircraft, the operation of the protection systems and the procedures adopted during the flight.

The report of the Center for Research and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (Cenipa) also pointed to irregularities in the maintenance procedures and records of technical failures of the company.

According to reports, the plane faced severe ice formation conditions before losing support and crashing.

The court will examine the complaint against the 12 involved.

The Federal Police had concluded the investigation in August 2026, with the indictment of 16 people. After examining the investigation, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office decided to file a complaint against 12 of them. It will now be up to Justiça Federal to examine whether there are sufficient elements to receive the complaint and initiate criminal proceedings.

The offering of the complaint does not represent a condemnation. The parties involved will have the right to a defence and to contradictory action during the course of the proceedings. In a demonstration released to the press, Voepass said it will continue to collaborate with the Judiciary and the competent authorities. The defense of José Luiz Felício Filho declared that he will manifest himself in the autos at the appropriate time and reiterated the solidarity of the businessman to the families of the victims.

The case is under review by Justiça Federal.