What happened
On December 17, 2009, a Piper PA-25-235, registration PR-ABE, was performing agricultural spraying operations near Ilhota, Santa Catarina. During the flight, the engine suddenly stopped functioning. The pilot attempted an emergency landing on a road running perpendicular to the crop field.
During the landing sequence, the aircraft struck a bush on the side of the road and collided with a telecommunications pole. The impact caused the aircraft to veer 90 degrees to the right, eventually coming to a halt in a drainage ditch. The aircraft sustained severe damage to the fuselage, right wing, landing gear, propeller, and engine. The pilot was uninjured and evacuated the aircraft normally.
The investigation
CENIPA investigators determined that the engine failure was caused by fuel exhaustion. Post-accident inspections revealed that the tanks contained only residual fuel, well below the minimum usable amount for flight. No leaks or failures in the fuel lines or engine systems were identified.
Investigation into the flight planning revealed that the aircraft had been refueled the previous day. Following that refueling, the pilot had completed another flight before the aircraft was parked for the night. On the day of the accident, the pilot did not perform a pre-flight fuel check, operating under the assumption that the remaining fuel from the previous day's operations would be sufficient for the short-duration mission.
Furthermore, the investigation noted a lack of coordination between the pilot and the agricultural technician, who was also acting as the ground assistant. The technician failed to confirm the required fuel levels for the mission.
Findings
- Inadequate flight planning: The pilot failed to accurately calculate the fuel required to complete the spraying mission and land safely.
- Lack of fuel verification: The pilot did not verify the actual fuel quantity in the tanks prior to takeoff.
- Operational deficiencies: There was a lack of effective communication and coordination between the pilot and the ground support personnel regarding mission requirements.
- Management supervision: The operation was being conducted far from the company's main base, which limited effective managerial oversight of the remote team's coordination.