What happened
On September 14, 2018, a Cirrus SR20 (registration PR-COR) was conducting a private flight from Mossoró, RN, to Crateús, CE. Approximately 50 minutes into the flight, while at cruise altitude, the aircraft experienced a loss of engine power. In response to the emergency, the pilot identified an unregistered landing strip near Boa Viagem, CE, to perform a precautionary landing.
During the landing sequence, the nose gear failed, causing the propeller blades to strike the ground. The aircraft subsequently veered off the right side of the strip, and the right main landing gear collapsed from the airframe. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, though both the pilot and the passenger were uninjured.
The investigation
CENIPA's investigation was significantly hindered because the aircraft was removed from the accident site without authorization from the investigating authority. This unauthorized removal compromised the preservation of evidence, prevented an in-depth analysis of the scene, and made it impossible to formulate specific hypotheses regarding the engine failure.
Due to the loss of critical data and the inability to identify contributing factors, CENIPA officially terminated the investigation, determining that further proceedings would not provide useful information for the prevention of future accidents.