No fatalities

2000-05-30: Beechcraft 90 King Air (PP-EFC) — Government of the State of Goiás — Goiânia, Brazil

Goiânia, BrazilLanding (descent or approach)

On May 30, 2000, a Beechcraft 90 King Air (registration PP-EFC) operated by Government of the State of Goiás was involved in an aviation accident near Goiânia, Brazil during landing or approach. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: Both engines failed 12 minutes apart due to fuel exhaustion. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A).

Sourcesthe Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A)Primary reportUpdated 1781203506Data APIEditorial standards

A twin-engine aircraft suffered sequential engine failures due to fuel exhaustion, crash-landing in a pasture short of Goiânia Airport. All nine occupants were rescued, with seven injured, three seriously.

Introduction

A twin-engine aircraft operating a flight from a private airstrip in Itapuranga to Goiânia experienced a dual engine failure, leading to an emergency landing in a pasture. The aircraft was carrying seven passengers and two pilots.

Sequence of Events

Approximately 10 minutes after takeoff, while at cruising altitude, the captain informed air traffic control (ATC) of a failure in the right engine. Due to the short duration of the flight—totaling 25 minutes—the captain decided to continue toward Goiânia. Twelve minutes later, the left engine also failed. The crew declared an emergency and, unable to reach Goiânia Airport, attempted an emergency landing in a pasture. The aircraft crash-landed 13 kilometers short of runway 14 threshold.

Rescue

All nine occupants were rescued from the aircraft. Among them, seven people sustained injuries, three of whom were seriously injured.

Probable Cause

According to the official investigation, the probable cause of the accident was that both engines failed 12 minutes apart due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing factors identified include: fuel tanks were empty; fuel quantity was insufficient for the requested flying distance; poor flight preparation and planning; complacency on the part of the copilot; wrong decisions by the captain; failures in flight organization within the operations of the Government of the State of Goiás; miscalculations in fuel consumption; operating an airplane with faulty fuel gauges; failures in monitoring related to flight safety culture; poor crew resource management; poor crew coordination; and lack of crew interactions.