What happened
On January 28, 2020, an Embraer EMB-202A, registration PT-UVY, was performing agricultural spraying operations over a sugarcane plantation near Serranópolis, Goiás. The aircraft departed from a local landing strip for a planned 40-minute mission. Approximately 20 minutes into the flight, the engine failed, forcing the pilot to perform an emergency landing in a wooded area.
The descent involved a sequence of impacts. The aircraft first struck the canopy of a tree without significantly altering its path. A second impact against a tree trunk caused damage to the right wing's leading edge and induced a 180-degree clockwise rotation. The aircraft then struck the ground with its tail cone, which caused the nose to pitch upward and the aircraft to come to rest in an inverted position.
The investigation
CENIPA investigators examined the aircraft and the pilot's actions following the engine failure. While the pilot reported attempting to switch the fuel selector from the right tank to the left tank during the emergency, investigators found the fuel selector in the right tank position.
Prior to the flight, only the right tank had been replenished with 130 liters of fuel, while the left tank contained an estimated 40 liters. Based on the engine's fuel consumption rate of approximately 95 liters per hour, investigators determined that the pilot likely operated the aircraft using the left tank for the first 20 minutes. This would have depleted the left tank's fuel to a level below the aircraft's minimum required reserve, leading to the engine flameout.
Findings
- The pilot was properly licensed and medically certified for the operation.
- The aircraft was airworthy, with all maintenance records up to date and within weight and balance limits.
- The engine failure was caused by fuel exhaustion resulting from the pilot likely selecting the incorrect fuel tank.
- The aircraft sustained substantial damage, though the pilot sustained only minor injuries.