AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
There's still no official word on the cause of Monday's plane crash in Colombia that killed nearly all the members of a beloved Brazilian soccer team. But audio released by Colombian media indicates the plane was initially denied permission to land even as it was running out of gas. Reporter John Otis has more.
JOHN OTIS, BYLINE: The audio is between the pilot of the doomed plane, Miguel Quiroga, and the control tower at the Medellin airport, which was the plane's final destination. Quiroga's plane was in a holding pattern over the airport as another jetliner made an emergency landing. In the audio, Quiroga pleads with the control tower to land.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MIGUEL QUIROGA: (Speaking foreign language).
OTIS: In his final message, he says the plane has run out of gas and has suffered a total electrical failure. Quiroga was then given permission to land, but moments later, the plane crashed into a mountain ridge, killing the pilot and 70 passengers and crew members. Six people survived. For NPR News, I'm John Otis in Bogota, Colombia. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.