Expert speculates possible disorientation due to lack of geospatial information

The Embraer-121 of geospatial information. It was raining heavily at the time of the accident. The twin-engine registration PT-MBU was in good condition and authorized to fly – including during bad weather –, but it collided with a hill and caught fire. The five people on board, who lived in Bahia, died.

The victims were commander Jefferson Rodrigues Ferreira, 36 years old, co-pilot Dulcival da Conceição Santos, 39, doctor Sylvia Rausch Barreto, 31, mechanic Joseilton Borges, 53, and nurse Erisson Silva da Conceição Cerqueira. They were on a flight that left Florianópolis (SC) towards Belo Horizonte (MG) to refuel. The final destination of the trip was Salvador.

According to the Fire Department, the aircraft was flying over the Vale do Paraíba region during a strong storm. However, this factor alone does not constitute a reason for the fall, as pointed out by Raul Marinho, aviation specialist and technical director of the Brazilian General Aviation Association (Abag).

“In theory, when an accident like this happens, which is called a Controlled Flight Against Terrain (CFIT), in bad weather conditions, it is possible that the crew became disoriented and, for some reason, did not have the correct information. the altitude or the location in which it was located”, he states.

Another hypothesis, less likely based on the preliminary information that exists about the accident, is that the aircraft may have had a problem with fuel supply, although it is possible to rule out the possibility of a shortage. “If the plane caught fire, it was because it had fuel to sustain the flames. So, there was probably fuel, we just don’t know if it was reaching the engines”, points out Raul Marinho.

The report sought out the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Center (Cenipa), a department of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) and the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) to obtain new information about the circumstances of the crash of the twin-engine plane. Anac passed the demand to Cenipa, which, in turn, sent a note addressing only the initial procedures that have been carried out.

“In the Initial Action, specific techniques are used, conducted by qualified and accredited personnel who carry out the collection and confirmation of data, the preservation of elements, the initial verification of damage caused to the aircraft, or by the aircraft, and the collection of other necessary information to the investigation”, the entity detailed in a note.