What happened
On December 23, 2019, a Piper PA-28R 200, registration PT-JPA, was conducting a private flight from Aeródromo João Fonseca (SNRH) in Envira, Amazonas, to the Novo Aeródromo de Feijó (SNOU) in Acre. The aircraft was carrying a pilot and three passengers.
During the flight, the aircraft experienced an engine failure. The pilot executed an emergency landing on the Envira River. Following the water landing, the occupants exited the aircraft through the main door. Due to the river being in its flood season, the aircraft subsequently submerged. All four occupants escaped the wreckage uninjured.
The investigation
The investigation, conducted by SERIPA VII, established that the pilot was fully qualified, holding a valid Commercial Pilot license and single-engine land rating, with approximately 5,00 and total flight hours. The aircraft's airworthiness certificate was valid, and the flight was within weight and balance limits. Calculations based on the last refueling in Feijó indicated the aircraft had sufficient fuel for the intended mission.
Investigators were unable to examine the aircraft or its maintenance logs, as the aircraft remained submerged in the river. The operator intended to recover the airframe during the next low-water season. While the pilot estimated that approximately 150 hours had been flown since the last 100-hour inspection, the investigators could not confirm if the maintenance program was being strictly followed because the logbooks were lost with the aircraft.