Flight History
The aircraft departed Lins Airport on a ferry flight to Sorocaba, carrying two pilots and one passenger, who was the owner. The aircraft was being transferred to Sorocaba Airport for maintenance. During the descent, the crew was informed that runway 36 was in use and that three small aircraft were conducting local training in the circuit. Weather conditions were good.
Accident
The captain decided to perform a straight-in approach to runway 18. After touchdown, the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining runway distance. It overran the runway, crossed a road, and came to rest in a ravine. The passenger escaped uninjured, the copilot suffered serious injuries, and the captain was killed. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable Cause
The official findings identified the probable cause as a wrong approach configuration by the crew, who completed an unstabilized approach and landed too far down the runway—approximately halfway—at an excessive speed. Under these conditions, the aircraft could not be stopped within the remaining distance. Contributing factors included the lack of an approach briefing, failure to follow the approach checklist, maintenance deficiencies (particularly with the brakes), outdated techlogs, insufficient periodic maintenance, the captain's preference for runway 18 despite runway 36 being in use, an unstable short final, excessive landing speed preventing reverse thrust activation, the captain taking over control and activating reverse thrust only on the right engine, poor crew coordination, a conflict environment after touchdown, poor judgment, poor flight planning, and lack of crew discipline.