What happened
On October 15, 1994, a Piper PA-34 (registration PT-OEK) departed from Blumenau, Santa Catarina, bound for Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro. The aircraft was operated by Sol Nascente Comercio De Secos e Molhados Ltda. and was carrying one pilot and four passengers.
At 12:47Z, the pilot established contact with Curitiba Center, requesting an Advisory Flying (AFIL) plan to fly visually along the coast at 1,500 feet. The pilot reported an estimated endurance of 4 hours and 30 minutes. Following the request, the aircraft maintained regular communication with the controller until 13:45Z, when the pilot was instructed to switch frequencies to Brasília Center. No further communications were recorded from the aircraft after this instruction.
Following the loss of contact, the aircraft was officially declared missing on October 19, 1994. Search operations commenced on October 20 but were suspended on November 18, 1994, as no debris or survivors were found.
The investigation
CENIPA's investigation focused on the flight's final communications and the aircraft's status prior to the disappearance. The investigation confirmed that the pilot held a valid Commercial Pilot license and a valid medical certificate. The aircraft's airworthiness and registration certificates were also up to date, and the annual inspection (IAM) had been regularized in late 1993.
Because the aircraft's location remains unknown, investigators were unable to retrieve meteorological data for the time of the disappearance, nor could they examine the wreckage or evaluate the mechanical condition of the aircraft at the time of the event. There were no recorded communications between the pilot and Brasília Center, leaving the exact circumstances of the disappearance unverified.