What happened
On November 27, 2019, an EMB 201A aircraft, registration PT-GRG, crashed in a rural area of Cláudia, Mato Grosso, during an agricultural spraying operation. The aircraft had taken off from a local landing strip at Fazenda Barra to apply fungicides to a soybean crop. Approximately 20 minutes into the flight, following the completion of a spraying pass, the aircraft struck the ground during a repositioning maneuver. The impact destroyed the aircraft, and the pilot sustained fatal injuries.
The investigation
CENIPA investigators examined the wreckage and flight records, noting that the accident site had been disturbed by unauthorized personnel and vehicles before investigators arrived. The investigation revealed significant irregularities regarding the aircraft's airworthiness. While the aircraft was equipped with a Lycoming engine, it had been converted to operate on ethanol without following the approved methods established by the manufacturer or the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC). Consequently, the aircraft was operating with fuel in disagreement with its approved type design.
Furthermore, discrepancies were found in the aircraft's maintenance and flight logs. While the pilot's logbook indicated a specific number of flight hours, data from the aircraft's GPS revealed that significantly more flight hours had been flown in November 2019 than were recorded. The investigation also noted that the aircraft's maintenance records for the engine, propeller, and airframe were not up to date, making it impossible to verify if periodic maintenance had been properly performed.
Findings
- The aircraft was operating with unapproved fuel (ethanol), rendering it unairworthy.
- The pilot, while properly licensed, had low experience in this specific type of agricultural flight.
- There were significant discrepancies between the actual flight hours recorded via GPS and the entries in the aircraft's logbook.
- The investigation could not definitively determine the exact cause of the crash due to the lack of site preservation, though two hypotheses were considered: a collision with a tree during a maneuver or an engine failure leading to a stall.
- The aircraft's maintenance documentation for the engine, propeller, and airframe was outdated.