Basically from what I could gather what happened was...
It was a 3k mile trip and the the fuel tank could only hold 10K extra, so the initial plan was to leave from point A, stop half way, re fill the tank at point B and then arrive at point C which was the main destination. It's said they were running late so the captain decided to go from A to C without refueling since there was just about enough fuel to make land. Which was obviously a big fucking risk he chose to take.
By the time they got there they were running on fumes pretty much. He contacted air traffic control and desperately asked permission to land which was denied, there was another plane doing an emergency land and he was told to wait. He ran out of fuel and that led to an electronic failure. Then the rest we already know.
Fucking irresponsible motherfucker. There are many people to blame here, the Brazilian federation for allowing the team to leave in those circustances, the air control people for not finding a quick solution to the imediate problem and the fucking pilot, which btw was the owner of the air company.
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I'm watching the "homenaje' they're doing right now at the stadium and man, tears running down my face. What a beautiful thing. Much respect to Colombians for doing this.
It really goes to show that Football is much more than just a sport. It connects people around the world in a way no other 'activity' does.