LaMia Flight 2933: The Chapecoense Air Disaster (2016)
On November 28, 2016, a chartered Avro RJ85 carrying Brazilian football club Chapecoense to the biggest match in its history crashed into a mountainside near Medellín, Colombia, killing 71 of the 77 people aboard. The disaster, caused by the aircraft running out of fuel, devastated the small-town club and sent shockwaves through the global football community, prompting an unprecedented outpouring of solidarity from rival teams and fans worldwide.
A Fateful Journey to the Copa Sudamericana
Chapecoense, a modest club from Chapecó in southern Brazil, had defied expectations to reach the final of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana, South America's second-tier continental club competition, against Atlético Nacional of Medellín. The team chartered LaMia Flight 2933, operated by the Bolivian airline LaMia, to fly from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, to Medellín, Colombia, for the first leg of the final on November 29, 2016. Aboard the Avro RJ85 were 77 people, including 68 passengers—most of them Chapecoense players, coaches, club officials, and journalists—along with a crew of four. Excitement surrounded the trip, as the club's remarkable Cinderella run through the tournament had captured the attention of fans across Brazil and beyond, making the final against a far more established Colombian club a landmark moment in the team's 43-year history.
Did You Know?
Goalkeeper Jakson Follmann survived the crash but had to have part of his right leg amputated due to his injuries; he later became a vocal advocate for accessibility and returned to public life as a motivational speaker connected to the club he nearly died flying to represent.
The Crash and Its Cause
In the early hours of November 28, 2016, as Flight 2933 approached José María Córdova International Airport near Medellín, the aircraft's engines lost power due to fuel exhaustion. The pilots had reported an electrical failure and requested priority landing, but investigators later determined the plane had not been carrying enough fuel to safely complete the roughly 1,600-mile journey with adequate reserves, especially after air traffic control briefly diverted the aircraft to allow another plane experiencing a genuine emergency to land first. With no fuel remaining, the RJ85 crashed into a hillside in the municipality of La Unión, in the mountainous Cerro Gordo del Oso region outside Medellín, at approximately 10:15 p.m. local time. The wreckage was scattered across the rugged terrain, and rescue teams faced difficult conditions reaching the crash site. Of the 77 people on board, 71 died, including 19 of Chapecoense's 22 traveling players, club president Sandro Pallaoro, and numerous journalists and staff. Only six people survived: three players—Alan Ruschel, Jakson Follmann, and Neto—along with two passengers and one flight attendant, Ximena Suárez.
Global Mourning and Football's Response
The crash triggered an extraordinary display of solidarity across international football. Atlético Nacional, Chapecoense's scheduled opponent, immediately requested that CONMEBOL award the Copa Sudamericana title to Chapecoense rather than contest the final, a request the confederation honored. Stadiums around the world held moments of silence, and clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Palmeiras offered financial and logistical support to help Chapecoense rebuild. Brazil declared three days of national mourning, and thousands gathered in Chapecó's Arena Condá stadium for a public memorial. Investigations by Colombian and Bolivian authorities found that LaMia's owners and pilots had cut corners on fuel calculations and safety protocols, leading to the airline's operating certificate being revoked and criminal charges against surviving company officials. Chapecoense, aided by loans of players from other Brazilian clubs and an outpouring of donations, rebuilt its roster and returned to competitive play the following season, with the disaster remaining a defining and tragic chapter in South American football history.