Experts from the Brazilian Air Force Monday launched analysis of the flight recorder of a small plane which crashed Saturday in the Amazon rainforest region in northwestern Brazil, killing at least 24 people aboard.
The experts, from the Brazilian Air Force's Center for the Investigation and Prevention of Accidents, were investigating four possible causes of the accident -- the weather conditions at the time of the crash, overloading, low fuel and using low-quality fuel.
The preliminary results of the investigation would be released in 10days.
According to Brazilian Civil Defense officials, the small aircraft owned by the Aerotaxi Manaus company was taking a one-hour flight from Coari to Manaos, capital of Amazonas state. On board the plane was a family of 18 who were going to celebrate a birthday party.
The accident occurred at around 15:00 p.m. local time on Saturday (1800GMT), when the pilot told the control tower in Manaos that the plane had problems and would return to Coari, before radio contact broke off.
It was raining heavily at the time of the crash.
The Air Force experts will calculate the weight of each passenger in order to determine if the plane was overloaded.
Experts said testimony by the four survivors -- three adults and a six-year-old boy -- will be vital to determining the cause of the accident.