Part 3/9:
After departing, the aircraft climbed to its cruising altitude of 29,000 feet. During this ascent, First Officer Zile attempted to determine their location by tuning into Belém's navigational beacon. However, the instruments showed no signal movement. Given Brazil's patchy aviation infrastructure, the pilots initially thought the beacon might be out of service.
After multiple failed attempts to communicate with Belém's air traffic control, they switched radios to a higher frequency and unexpectedly made contact with an aeronautical information officer, who then relayed their request for descent. It was at this point that the crew's confusion truly began to set in.