Overview
On a flight from Petrolina Airport to Salvador, a twin-engine aircraft carrying two pilots and two passengers, along with a load of bags containing bank documents, experienced an engine failure while at cruising altitude. The captain elected to make an emergency landing and reduced altitude, but the aircraft entered a right turn and crashed in a field in São Sebastião do Passé, approximately 50 km northwest of Salvador Airport. The aircraft was destroyed on impact, and all four occupants were killed.
Accident Sequence
The aircraft departed Petrolina Airport at 1221 local time. At 1332 local time, while at cruising altitude, the crew contacted air traffic control and reported an engine failure. The captain decided to perform an emergency landing and began descending. During the descent, the aircraft turned right and subsequently crashed in a field.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined the probable cause to be an engine failure in flight following fuel exhaustion. The crew had failed to properly prepare the flight and miscalculated fuel consumption, calculating 100 liters per hour while the actual consumption was 120 liters per hour. Contributing factors included overconfidence on the part of the crew, a poor organizational culture that affected flight safety, poor flight planning, and the crew's failure to feather the propeller following the engine failure, which caused drag and contributed to the loss of control at low altitude.