Incident Overview
A passenger aircraft on a domestic flight from São Paulo-Congonhas to Araçatuba with an intermediate stop in Bauru crashed shortly after an aborted landing at Bauru Airport. The aircraft was destroyed in the ensuing fire, and one member of the flight crew, as well as two individuals in a car on the ground, were killed. All other occupants of the aircraft were rescued, with three sustaining serious injuries.
Approach and Landing
Due to congestion on the Brasilia ARTCC frequency, the crew was cleared to initiate descent from flight level 140 at a distance of 50 kilometers from Bauru Airport, rather than the standard 74 kilometers. This resulted in the aircraft approaching the airport at an excessive speed. The captain-in-training assessed the situation as unsafe and preferred to execute a go-around, but the instructor decided to continue the approach. A lack of coordination between the captain and instructor left it unclear who would perform the landing; ultimately, the instructor took over control. The aircraft touched down at a speed of 130 knots, approximately 775 meters past the threshold of runway 32, with a rate of descent of 2,500 feet per minute. After touchdown, the aircraft floated, causing the left and right main landing gear to make contact with the runway alternately.
Go-Around and Crash
Realizing that he would not be able to stop the aircraft within the remaining runway distance, the instructor decided to initiate a go-around and applied full power. This maneuver was contrary to the published procedure. Due to a lack of sufficient airflow into the engine combined with a high angle of attack, the engine failed to develop enough power, and the aircraft stalled. The aircraft crashed approximately 600 meters past the end of the runway, striking vehicles and houses before coming to rest in flames.
Probable Cause
The official findings state that the accident was the consequence of poor approach planning and wrong approach configuration. Contributing factors included deficiencies in crew training, deficiencies in flight controls, poor crew coordination, poor judgment, poor planning, and lack of supervision.