Chapecoense survivor Alan Ruschel recalls silence and darkness before 2016 plane crash
Footballer Alan Ruschel, one of six survivors of the 2016 Chapecoense air tragedy, recalled the moments before the crash, noting the lights went out and the cabin fell silent.
November 28, 2025 - 03:50 PM ET • 2 min read
Nine years after the Chapecoense air tragedy that claimed 71 lives, Brazilian footballer Alan Ruschel, one of the six survivors, recounted the eerie moments inside the LaMia aircraft just before it crashed in Colombia.
Ruschel, who currently plays for Juventude, spoke in interviews published Friday, marking the anniversary of the disaster that occurred on November 28, 2016. The team was traveling to MedellÃn to play in the Copa Sudamericana final when the plane went down.
The 36-year-old footballer detailed the sequence of events leading up to the impact, stating he remembers everything until the moment the plane hit the ground.
"I remember that the pilot advised that we were going to land, we did one turn, another turn, and nothing… we weren't landing," Ruschel told Marca.
During one of the subsequent maneuvers, the cabin experienced a sudden and complete loss of power and sound.
"Suddenly, in one of those turns, all the lights on the plane went out, and everything went silent," Ruschel recalled. He noted that initially, there was no screaming or panic among the passengers, only a shared sense of confusion about the situation, asking, "what is happening?"
The silence was broken by a period of intense turbulence, followed by the sounding of an alarm inside the aircraft. Ruschel stated that he does not remember anything after the alarm sounded, presuming that was the moment of impact.
The crash killed 71 of the 77 people aboard the flight. Ruschel was one of six survivors, three of whom were Chapecoense players.
Ruschel revealed that a last-minute change of seating may have contributed to his survival. He also noted that the team had previously flown on the same LaMia aircraft during the Copa Sudamericana tournament. While he stated there was no suspicion that the plane was in poor condition, he described the overall circumstances surrounding the flight as "weird."
Ruschel recovered almost completely from the severe injuries he sustained in the crash and successfully returned to professional football. He continues his career with Juventude in Brazil.