What happened
On May 2, 2016, a Robinson R22 Beta helicopter, registration PR-RCA, departed from Campo de Marte in São Paulo for a planned flight involving touch-and-go maneuvers at Fazenda Irohy in Biritiba-Mirim. During the flight, the crew notified Radio Santos of their intention to fly near the Cubatão region.
At approximately 12:12 local time, the aircraft struck a high-tension steel cable belonging to an electrical network running parallel to the Conêgo Domênico Rangoni Highway. The impact with the wire severed a main rotor blade and caused the cable to become entangled in the rotor system. The collision resulted in the two fatalities of the pilot and the passenger. The aircraft was consumed by fire and was destroyed upon impact.
The investigation
CENIPA investigators established that the flight was being conducted for the purpose of aerial photography of a nearby construction project. However, the aircraft was registered under the Private-Instruction (PRI) category, which did not authorize this type of commercial operation.
Technical analysis of the wreckage by the Institute of Aeronautics and Space (IAE) confirmed that the engines and various systems were producing power at the time of impact. The investigation also revealed that the flight path deviated significantly from the filed flight plan, occurring more than 40km away from the intended destination and utilizing different corridors than those officially notified.
Findings
- The flight was conducted in violation of the approved flight plan, operating in an area far from the intended destination.
- The aircraft was operating outside its certified category, as the mission (aerial photography) was inconsistent with its Private-Instruction (PRI) registration.
- The crew failed to comply with ICA 100-4 regulations regarding authorized flight altitudes for special operations, flying below the minimum visual flight altitude requirements.
- The aircraft struck a high-resistance metallic cable, causing the catastrophic failure of the rotor system.