What happened
On January 27, 2010, an EMB-810C, registration PR-UGO, departed from Sorocaba Airport (SDCO) bound for Santa Rita do Araguaia, GO. The flight was operated by a private operator and carried a pilot and one passenger. Approximately two minutes after takeoff, roughly nine kilometers from the runway, witnesses observed the aircraft performing a 36/0-degree descending right-hand turn. The aircraft subsequently collided violently with trees in a forested area near Iperó, São Paulo.
The impact occurred at an angle of approximately 20 degrees nose-down. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact. The pilot and the passenger both sustained fatal injuries.
The investigation
CENIPA investigators established that the aircraft suffered from fuel exhaustion. Although the fuel selectors were in the open position, allowing both tanks to feed the engines, there was no fuel present from the selectors to the fuel injectors. No traces of fuel or fuel moisture were found at the crash site, which is atypical for such accidents.
The investigation also noted that the aircraft's landing gear was in the extended position and the flaps were set to the 40-degree landing configuration. While the aircraft's maintenance records indicated the engines were in excellent condition, investigators found that the pilot's arrival at the airport was delayed, which may have rushed the pre-flight preparations.
Findings
- The pilot failed to verify the actual fuel quantity in the tanks during the pre-flight inspection.
- The pilot's desire to maintain the scheduled departure time and avoid delaying the aircraft owners likely led to an inadequate external inspection.
- The pilot may have relied too heavily on the fact that he had personally performed the last refueling ten days prior, leading to an assumption of sufficient fuel.
- The lack of fuel in the system caused the engines to lose power, resulting in the uncontrolled descent and subsequent impact.