What happened
On November 9, 2015, at approximately 19:30 UTC, an EMB-721C aircraft, registration PT-EDJ, was involved in a runway excursion in a rural area near Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo. The aircraft had landed on an uncertified, non-homologated airstrip located within a sugarcane plantation to transport illegal cargo.
During a police operation at the site, the pilot attempted to take off to evade law enforcement. The takeoff attempt was unsuccessful, causing the aircraft to overshoot the limits of the unpaved runway and come to a stop approximately 50 meters inside the sugarcane plantation. The pilot abandoned the aircraft and fled the scene; the individual was not identified by authorities.
The investigation
CENIPA investigators established that the aircraft was being used for the transport of illicit goods. Upon inspection by police, several cardboard boxes containing medications, anabolic steroids, and veterinary products were discovered inside the cabin. The investigation noted that the aircraft's livery featured the registration PT-EDJ. Due to the nature of the event involving intentional illegal acts, the investigation was interrupted as the occurrence was driven by criminal activity that did not yield new information for aeronautical accident prevention.