What happened
On July 27, 2002, an EMB 720 C Minuano, registration PT-EXA, was performing a flight from Manaus to Lábrea, Amazonas. The mission involved transporting the aircraft owner and a film crew from the Discovery Channel to capture footage of the Abufari Reserve.
During the flight, the pilot decided to land at an uncertified airstrip in Tapau and remove the rear door of the aircraft to facilitate filming from the air. After completing the low-altitude flyover of the reserve at 1,000 feet, the aircraft was returning for a second landing in Tapau when the engine suffered a sudden failure. The pilot attempted to use the electric boost pump and adjust power settings, but the engine failed to respond. To avoid a more dangerous impact, the pilot executed a forced landing in a marshy area with dense vegetation near a lake. All five occupants (the pilot and four passengers) escaped the crash uninjured, though the aircraft sustained severe damage and became partially submerged.
The investigation
CENIPA's investigation revealed several regulatory and maintenance irregularities. The aircraft was registered under the TPP category, which did not authorize the air service being performed. Furthermore, the pilot altered the flight profile and landed at an uncertified aerodrome without coordinating with air traffic control.
Regarding the aircraft's airworthiness, investigators found that the logbooks for the airframe, engine, and propeller were outdated. There were no records of the required 50-hour periodic inspections, indicating that maintenance was not being performed according to the required intervals. While there were reports that a fuel pump service had been conducted shortly before the accident, no documentation could verify this. Additionally, a technical analysis of the engine was performed by an uncertified workshop without the authorization of the investigation committee, rendering the results unreliable.
Findings
- Inadequate maintenance supervision, as the operator failed to maintain proper records of engine and airframe hours.
- Lack of periodic inspections, evidenced by the absence of 50-hour maintenance logs.
- Unauthorized flight operations, including the use of an uncertified aerodrome and performing air services without the proper category authorization.
- Engine failure during the return leg of the flight.