Twin-Engine Aircraft Crash Near Sorocaba-Bertram Luiz Leupolz Airport (PP-EPB)

Incident Overview and Flight Details A twin-engine aircraft departed Manaus-Aeroclub de Flores Airport on a flight to Barra do Garças, carrying one passenger and one pilot. After takeoff from Manaus, the pilot changed his mind and decided to fly to Sorocaba. On final approach to Sorocaba-Bertram Luiz Leupolz Airport in good weather conditions, the aircraft impacted trees and crashed in a wooded area located about one km short of runway 18. The aircraft was destroyed and both occupants were killed. There was no fire. ## Official Contributing Factors The official investigation identified several contributing factors. First, flight indiscipline was a contributor: the pilot failed to comply with the minimum fuel requirements laid down in the regulations, providing conditions for both engines to stop operating in flight due to lack of fuel. Second, piloting judgment was a contributor: an inadequate evaluation of certain parameters related to aircraft operation, particularly the influence of the chosen flight level on fuel consumption, led to the decision to proceed with the flight to the intended aerodrome rather than the more conservative option of finding a suitable place for an intermediate landing and refueling, which led to the depletion of usable fuel in flight. Third, flight planning was a contributor: inadequate flight preparation work, especially with regard to fuel calculation and cruise level selection, degraded the safety level and contributed to the accident. Finally, the decision-making process was undetermined: difficulties in perceiving, analyzing, choosing alternatives, and acting appropriately due to inadequate judgment may have resulted in poor assessment of flight parameters, such as available fuel, distance to destination, and verified consumption, which may have favored the occurrence of lack of fuel failure.