What happened
On May 23, 2023, an EMB-202A aircraft, registration PT-UVC, was performing aerial pesticide application over a cotton plantation at Fazenda Karitel, in the municipality of Cocos, Bahia. Approximately 18 minutes after takeoff, while the pilot was executing a reversal turn, the engine experienced a sudden loss of power.
Unable to maintain flight, the pilot performed an emergency landing in an unprepared field. The aircraft struck the vegetation with its right wing and spun across the ground for approximately 140 meters. The impact caused substantial damage to the airframe, including the wings, landing gear, engine mount, and fuel tanks. The pilot sustained serious injuries, including fractures to a lower limb, but was rescued by a ground response team.
The investigation
CENIPA investigators examined the engine, a Lycoming IO-540-K1J5, and found no evidence of mechanical malfunction. The investigation focused on the fuel system, noting that the aircraft lacked a fuel quantity indicator in the cockpit, requiring the pilot to rely on external mechanical gauges on the wing surface.
Analysis of the wreckage revealed the fuel selector was set to the "D" (right tank) position. However, evidence showed that the 30 liters of usable fuel in the left tank had been exhausted, while 60 liters of usable fuel remained in the right tank. The investigation established that the engine failure was caused by fuel starvation because the pilot had left the selector in the "E" (left tank) position, which had run dry.
Findings
- The engine failure was caused by fuel starvation resulting from the exhaustion of the left fuel tank.
- The pilot had been performing tasks such as programming the DGPS during refueling, which likely reduced attention to the pre-flight checklist.
- The pilot had recently returned to agricultural aviation after a 15-year hiatus, which may have led to a reliance on intuition rather than technical verification of fuel levels.
- The operator's risk management process failed to identify hazards related to refueling procedures and lacked sufficient barriers to prevent human error.
- The pilot did not jettison the agricultural pesticide load during the emergency descent, a factor that complicated the landing.