Colombian Aviation Authority: Brazilian Football Club Plane Crash Run Out of Fuel

The plane that crashed near Medellin in late November, killing players and officials from Brazilian football club Chapecoense had run out of fuel, the Colombian aviation authority Aerocivil confirmed.

    Information from the plane's flight data recorder indicated the co-pilot had repeatedly told the pilot that fuel was running out, a report on the crash issued by Aerocivil concluded.

    Records also indicated that the pilot had radioed an SOS only two minutes before the disaster.

    The Lamia Air Avro RJ 85 crashed in hills close to Medellin with 77 people aboard. It was bound for the final of the continent-wide Copa Sudamericana tournament in Medellin.

    Among those killed were 19 Chapecoense players, 24 team officials and their companions, 21 Brazilian journalists and seven Bolivian and Paraguayan flight crew members. Three players, two crew members and a journalist survived.

    The Aerocivil report also revealed that the aircraft had exceeded its maximum permitted weight limit on takeoff from Santa Cruz de la Sierra airport in Bolivia.

Source: QNA