What happened
On December 19, 2014, an EMB-202 aircraft, registration PT-ULZ, crashed while performing agricultural spraying operations over a soybean plantation at Fazenda Jucarama, near Água Boa, Mato Grosso. The aircraft had taken off from a local landing strip to apply pesticides. During a low-altitude maneuver, the aircraft entered a loss of control and struck the ground at a steep angle, approximately 45 to 60 degrees nose-down. The impact caused substantial damage to the airframe and resulted in the death of the pilot.
The investigation
CENIPA investigators analyzed the wreckage and flight data retrieved from the aircraft's GPS. The investigation established that the engine was functioning normally at the time of the accident, as evidenced by the high rotation of the propeller shaft upon impact and the aircraft's power acceleration in previous flight segments.
Data from the GPS showed that in the final moments of flight, the aircraft was executing a right-hand turn. The flight path indicated a significant deviation from the pilot's usual pattern; while previous turns were executed perpendicular to a nearby road, the final maneuver was performed with an axis parallel to the road, likely an attempt to avoid overhead power lines. This maneuver resulted in an extremely tight turn radius of approximately 25.5 meters, compared to the pilot's typical 75 to 83-meter turns. The investigation determined that the aircraft's speed had dropped to approximately 70 mph, which was near the estimated stall speed for the aircraft's weight and configuration.
Findings
- The pilot applied improper control inputs, specifically regarding bank and pitch, which led the aircraft into an aerodynamic stall.
- The pilot's judgment was a contributing factor, as the decision to alter the standard flight profile to avoid electrical obstacles necessitated a much tighter turn than previously practiced, increasing the risk of a stall.