Accident
On an unspecified date, a twin-engine cargo aircraft departed Salvador Airport at 0525 local time on a flight to Lençóis, carrying a load of bank documents and two pilots. During the final approach to Lençóis Airport, the crew encountered limited visibility due to marginal weather conditions. The captain decided to continue the approach and completed a turn to the left, after which the aircraft crashed approximately 2 kilometers from the runway threshold. The impact caused the aircraft to burst into flames; it was totally destroyed, and both pilots were killed.
Investigation
Official findings identified the probable cause as the captain's decision to continue the approach under visual flight rules (VFR) in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) to an airport that was not suitable for instrument flight rules (IFR) operations. Several contributing factors were noted. The lack of ground references may have contributed to the captain's spatial disorientation. Although the weather conditions made a VFR landing impossible, the captain insisted on landing and neglected IFR procedures. The captain ignored the copilot's advice and continued the approach, placing the aircraft in an attitude that caused it to stall. The investigation cited poor judgment on the part of the captain. Additionally, despite the operator's implementation of a crew resource management (CRM) program, the operator was unable to identify that the captain was violating published procedures.