What happened
On April 11, 2020, at approximately 12:20 UTC, an Embraer EMB-203, registration PT-COW, crashed in a rural area near Iturama, Minas Gerais, during an agricultural spraying operation. The aircraft had departed from a local airstrip about twelve minutes prior to the impact. During the flight, the aircraft entered a steep left-hand turn at a low altitude, which resulted in a nose-down attitude and a high-angle impact with the ground. The crash caused substantial damage to the aircraft and resulted in one fatality.
The investigation
CENIPA investigators examined the wreckage and analyzed data from a Digital Global Positioning System (DGPS) unit recovered from the aircraft. The investigation confirmed that the aircraft was airworthy, within weight and balance limits, and that all maintenance logs for the engine, propeller, and airframe were up to and including date. The pilot was fully qualified with valid commercial and agricultural licenses, as well as a valid medical certificate. Meteorological conditions at the time of the accident were favorable for flight.
Analysis of the wreckage distribution, which featured a shallow crater and concentrated debris, indicated a low-speed impact with a high angle of attack. This pattern is consistent with an aircraft entering a stall. While the DGPS data could not definitively confirm if operational limits were exceeded, witness accounts and the aircraft's position suggested the pilot was performing an aggressive reversal turn. The investigation noted that the manufacturer's manual explicitly prohibits acrobatic maneuvers and bank angles exceeding 60 degrees for this model.
Findings
- The pilot was performing a reversal turn during an agricultural application mission.
- The aircraft entered a stall condition at an altitude too low to allow for recovery.
- The pilot's flight profile frequently involved aggressive maneuvers and unauthorized acrobatic maneuvers that exceeded the aircraft's design limitations.