Colombian aviation authorities say errors by the pilot, airline and Bolivian regulators are to blame for a plane crash in Colombia that killed 71 people last month, including most of Brazil's Chapecoense soccer team.
Officials say the plane, operated by Bolivia-based charter company LaMia, went down in a wooded hillside hear Medellin because the pilot did not refuel en route and did not report engine failures caused by the lack of fuel until it was too late.
"No technical factor was part of the accident, everything involved human error, added to a management factor in the company's administration and the management and organization of the flight plans by the authorities in Bolivia," Colombia's Secretary for Air Safety Colonel Freddy Bonilla told journalists.
Aviation authorities in Bolivia and the airline "accepted conditions for the flight presented in the flight plan that were unacceptable," said Bonilla.
Bonilla added that besides a lack of fuel, the plane was over its weight limit by nearly 400 kilograms and was not certified to fly at the altitude at which the journey took place.
The preliminary conclusions of Colombia's investigation coincide with assertions by Bolivian authorities last week that LaMia and the plane's pilot were directly responsible for the accident.
Pilot and co-owner Miguel Quiroga was killed in the crash.
LaMia's chief executive Gustavo Vargas Gamboa was jailed pending trial earlier this month on manslaughter and other charges, which he has denied.
His son Gustavo Vargas Villegas, a former official with Bolivia's aviation authority, is also being held on charges that he misused his influence in authorizing the license of the plane that crashed. He also says he is innocent.
LaMia co-owner Marco Antonio Rocha Benegas also faces criminal charges, but his whereabouts are unknown
Air traffic controller Celia Castedo, who fled Bolivia after the crash and is seeking asylum in Brazil.
Bolivian authorities have said the crash was an isolated incident, but that the government will accelerate the process of implementing a new safety system. Colombian investigators have the final word on causes of the crash, Bolivian authorities have said.
The aircraft had been transporting the Chapecoense team to the biggest game in its history, the final of the Copa Sudamericana.
All but three of the players and staff onboard were killed. Two crew members and one reporter also survived.
With files from Reuters