As Brazil comes to terms with the loss of a top football team and dozens of other passengers in the worst air disaster of 2016, attention is focusing on whether the chartered jet ran out of fuel.

The British-made Avro RJ85 jet crashed on the approach to Medellín’s main airport in Colombia. Seventy-one people died; six survivors are being treated in hospital.

The 17-year-old jet had taken off from the airline’s home base in Santa Cruz, Bolivia at 6.18pm local time on Monday evening. Almost five hours later, it crashed and broke up about 20 miles south of the city’s Rio Negro airport.

Early reports suggested that the pilots reported an electrical failure, but aviation safety experts have raised the possibility that this was a result of all four jet engines shutting down.

Chapecoense Real Tribute Show all 11 1 /11 Chapecoense Real Tribute Chapecoense Real Tribute Flowers hang from a soccer net at the Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco, Brazil AP Chapecoense Real Tribute Supporters of Brazilian football team Chapecoense take part in a vigil at Conda Arena Rex Features Chapecoense Real Tribute People surround a church during a mass in memoriam of the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real killed in a plane crash in the Colombian mountains, in Chapeco, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina Getty Chapecoense Real Tribute Fans of Chapecoense soccer team attend a mass at the Santo Antonio Cathedral in Chapeco, Brazil Getty Chapecoense Real Tribute A boy sits alone on the stands during a tribute to the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real Getty Chapecoense Real Tribute Supporters of the Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense gather at the Arena Conda Arena in Chapeco, Brazil EPA Chapecoense Real Tribute People surround a church during a mass in memoriam of the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real Getty Chapecoense Real Tribute Fans pays tribute to the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real Getty Chapecoense Real Tribute Fans pay tribute to the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real who were killed in a plane accident in the Colombian mountains, at the club's Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina Getty Chapecoense Real Tribute Players of the Chapecoense were among 81 people on board the doomed flight that crashed into mountains in northwestern Colombia, in which officials said just six people were thought to have survived, including three of the players. Chapecoense had risen from obscurity to make it to the Copa Sudamericana finals scheduled for Wednesday against Atletico Nacional of Colombia Getty Chapecoense Real Tribute People work at the Desbravador or Pioneer Monument, symbol of the city, which is pictured with black stripes in tribute to players of Chapecoense soccer team in Chapeco, Brazil Reuters

The flight from Santa Cruz was 1,850 miles, a sector close to the maximum for the Avro RJ85 jet with a heavy passenger load and without additional fuel tanks. The distance is further than from Edinburgh to Istanbul, a sector that is currently flown by a Boeing 737, which is larger and has a longer range. The 737 or its Airbus equivalent, the A320, would be the standard choice for a route of that length.

Pilots routinely load enough fuel for the planned flight plus sufficient for flying a holding pattern, diverting to an alternate airport and a reserve allowing a further 30 minutes of flight.

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But speculation is mounting that the captain of the Medellín-bound plane, Miguel Quiroga, opted not to stop en route to refuel, in a bid to save time and money. The captain was also part-owner of the airline.

Eight minutes before contact was lost with the doomed plane, the aircraft entered a holding pattern at 21,000 feet above sea level. It is believed that the pilots were instructed to hold to allow another aircraft to land. A VivaColombia flight from the capital, Bogota, to San Andres had requested a precautionary diversion to Medellín because of a fault on board. It is feared that the extra fuel burned while the RJ85 jet flew a holding pattern may have proved fatal.

Six minutes later, the RJ85 aircraft joined the approach to the airport. It disappeared from radar two minutes later, and soon afterwards collided with mountainous terrain.

The charter was carrying a leading Brazilian football team, Chapecoense, plus club staff and journalists. The team were flying to the first leg of the Copa Sudamerica final against Atlético Nacional of Medellín.