Mauro Stumpf says the LaMia airline "treated us very well" as the team travelled to the biggest game in their history.
A small team that had just made it into big-time Brazilian football, Chapecoense were having the best run of their history.
At least 15 Syrian fighters were killed in the attack, which was intended to target Islamic State.
A number of victims with bloodied faces are seen lying in the street while others are carried to a waiting ambulance.