FAMILIES of the victims of a plane crash in Brazil gathered in Sao Paulo today as forensics experts worked to identify the remains of the 62 people killed in Friday’s accident.

Authorities said the bodies of the pilot, Danilo Santos Romano, and his co-pilot, Humberto de Campos Alencar e Silva, were the first to be identified by forensics experts.

Sao Paulo state government said that the remains of all the victims had been recovered. There were 34 male and 28 female bodies in the wreckage, it said.

The ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop operated by Brazilian airline Voepass was headed for Sao Paulo with 58 passengers and four crew members when it went down on Friday in Vinhedo, 49 miles north of the metropolis.

Images showed the aircraft in a flat spin and plunging vertically before smashing to the ground inside a gated community. There were no injuries on the ground.

It was the world’s deadliest airline crash since January 2023, when 72 people died on a Yeti Airlines plane in Nepal that stalled and crashed while making its landing approach. That plane was also an ATR 72 but the final report blamed pilot error.

Weather firm Metsul said there were reports of severe icing in Sao Paulo state around the time of the crash. Local media cited experts pointing to icing as a potential cause for the accident.

A video shared on social media on Saturday shows a Voepass pilot telling passengers on a flight from Guarulhos to the city of Cascavel, the start point of the crashed plane, that the ATR 72 has flown safely for decades. He asked passengers to be respectful to the memory of his colleagues and the company and asked for prayers.

“This tragedy doesn’t hit only those who perished in this accident. It hits all of us,” the unidentified pilot said. “We are giving all our hearts, all our best to be here and fulfill our mission to take you safely and comfortably to your destination.”