What happened
An unnamed twin engine aircraft departed Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont Airport for a flight to Joinville Airport. During the night approach, the pilot encountered marginal weather conditions, including a ceiling of 650 feet and visibility restricted to 2 km at the destination. At 20:32 local time, the pilot began the approach and notified air traffic control that a diversion to Curitiba would be necessary if precipitation was present.
Four minutes later, while on final approach, the aircraft collided with trees approximately 15 km southeast of the threshold of runway 33. The impact and subsequent post-crash fire resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft. There were three fatalities among the occupants.
Findings
Investigations into the accident highlighted several contributing factors related to pilot decision-making and environmental conditions:
- Meteorological conditions at the destination were unstable and worsened during the descent procedure.
- The pilot failed to maintain the planned descent profile and did not properly execute instrument flight procedures.
- Psychological factors, including excessive self-confidence and pressure within the cabin, likely influenced an inadequate decision-making process regarding the landing attempt.
- A lack of adherence to established procedures and a failure to conduct an appropriate descent briefing were noted.
- Due to the extreme destruction of the airframe, the specific role of mechanical or instrumental failure could not be determined.