What happened
On March 10, 2014, at 17:30 UTC, an Embraer EMB-720C, registration PT-EPW, was performing a charter flight for bank mail delivery. The flight originated from Aeródromo Brigadeiro Protásio (SBJC) in Belém, with scheduled stops at Fazenda Santo Ambrósio (SISO) and Chaves (SNXW) before returning to SBJC.
Upon arriving at Chaves Aerodrome, the pilot noted the runway was wet and covered in low-lying vegetation due to recent rainfall. During the takeoff roll on runway 08, the pilot encountered an unexpected patch of standing water in the second third of the runway, which caused the aircraft to decelerate. Realizing the aircraft would not reach rotation speed, the pilot attempted to abort the takeoff. However, due to reduced braking effectiveness on the wet surface, the aircraft could not be stopped within the available runway length, eventually overrunning the threshold and colliding with the aerodrome's perimeter fence. The aircraft sustained light damage to the wing leading edges and the lower engine cowling, while the fence was also damaged. All three occupants—the pilot and two passengers—were uninjured.
The investigation
CENIPA's investigation revealed that the Chaves Aerodrome (SNXW) had its certification canceled on August 19, 2013, and the runway's status was noted as canceled on the AISWEB website. The investigation established that the operator, Stilus Táxi-Aéreo, planned the flight without accounting for the canceled status of the aerodrome. Furthermore, the pilot failed to consult updated aeronautical publications, which would have indicated the aerodrome's non-compliant status. The investigation also noted that a flight plan for the SISO-SNXW leg was not submitted, meaning air traffic services were unaware the flight intended to land at an uncertified location.
Findings
- Flight planning and management failures, including inadequate operational oversight and flight planning.
- Pilot error in failing to verify the current status of destination aerodromes through aeronautical publications.
- Operational non-compliance, as the flight utilized an aerodrome that was not approved for the intended operation.
- Environmental factors, specifically the presence of standing water and vegetation that obscured runway conditions.
- Inadequate braking performance due to the wet runway surface during the aborted takeoff.