Human error caused a November 28 plane crash that killed 71 people, including members of the Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense, the Bolivian government said Tuesday.
LaMia Flight 2933 was flying from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to Medellin, Colombia, when it crashed into a hillside near Medellin.
Bolivian Minister of Public Works Milton Claros told reporters: “After investigations we have concluded that the pilot of the plane and the airline LaMia are responsible for the crash.”
He said actions have been taken against government workers who may have shirked their duties. Legal measures will be taken against the airline and government employees, Claros said.
The airline had no immediate public response.
The conclusion by Bolivian officials comes less than a month after the crash. Most air accident investigations take a year or longer as an inquiry explores all the contributing factors leading up to the crash.
The charter plane was transporting the Chapecoense team members on their way to play in the first leg of the Copa Sudamerica finals. Six people survived the crash, authorities said. Chapecoense defender Alan Luciano Ruschel was among the survivors.
Just before the crash, a crew member on board told air traffic controllers, “The plane is in total electric failure and without fuel,” according to two sources familiar with the investigation who heard audio recordings.
Earlier this month, Gustavo Vargas, the general manager of LaMia Airlines, and two other employees were detained, Ivan Quintanilla, a member of the LaMia investigation commission, told Bolivia’s state-run Bolivian Information Agency.
The airline’s offices in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, also were raided.