What happened
On the night of the accident, a twin-engine aircraft departed from Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont Airport for a flight to Joinville Airport. During the descent, the pilot encountered challenging weather conditions characterized by marginal visibility and low ceilings. Specifically, the pilot was notified that visibility at the destination was approximately 2 km, with a cloud ceiling of 650 feet.
At 20:32 local time, the pilot began the approach procedure. During communications with Air Traffic Control, the pilot indicated a plan to divert to Curitiba should active rainfall be present at the destination. However, while performing the final approach, the aircraft collided with trees located roughly 15 km southeast of the threshold of runway 33. The impact and subsequent post-crash fire resulted in the total destruction of the airframe. There were three fatalities among the occupants, with no survivors.
Findings
- The flight was conducted under night and marginal weather conditions.
- The aircraft struck vegetation during the final approach phase.