2021 Piedade de Caratinga Beechcraft King Air crash
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Portuguese. (October 2021) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
 The aircraft involved in the accident, less than three months before the accident. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 5 November 2021 |
| Summary | Pilot error; controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Piedade de Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil 19°46′5.5″S 42°6′27.62″W / 19.768194°S 42.1076722°W[1] |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Beechcraft C90A King Air |
| Operator | PEC Aviation |
| Registration | PT-ONJ |
| Flight origin | Goiânia International Airport, Goiânia |
| Destination | Ubaporanga Airport, Caratinga, Brazil |
| Passengers | 3 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 5 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On 5 November 2021, a Beechcraft King Air on approach for landing to the Ubaporanga Airport in Piedade de Caratinga, near Caratinga, Brazil, crashed 4 kilometers from the runway, killing all five people on board,[2] including singer-songwriter Marília Mendonça.[3][4] The airplane involved belonged to PEC Aviation, a Brazilian air taxi operator.
Accident
[edit]On November 5, 2021, singer Marília Mendonça took off with four crew members in an air taxi in Goiânia bound for Caratinga in Minas Gerais, where she was to perform a show, but her plane crashed in the vicinity of Piedade de Caratinga, 2 kilometers away from the final destination. During the approach, the aircraft struck high-voltage power lines and crashed into a waterfall.[5]
Investigations
[edit]The investigation was conducted by CENIPA, on preliminary data, the plane with registration number PT-ONJ was up to date and with active registration. The plane and pilot were authorized to perform air taxi service and both pilot and copilot were considered experienced and the flying conditions at the time of the crash were favorable.
At the scene there was a strong smell of fuel but no fire.[6][7]
On 5 November, the Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais issued a note stating that the aircraft had hit power lines in Caratinga, in the Vale do Rio Doce. Preliminary information from pilots who were flying over the area at the same time of the crash corroborate the statement, having witnessed the moment when the twin-engine turboprop aircraft hit the electric cables.[8]
On 15 May, 2023, Cenipa released the final report regarding the cause of the accident. It found that the pilots had initiated the approach too early and at a significantly greater distance than expected for a Category B aircraft[a] and with a very low separation from the ground.
The investigation could not conclusively determine why but four possible contributing factors were identified:
- The pilots inadequately assessed the aircraft's operating parameters since the downwind leg was elongated by a significantly greater distance than that expected for a "Category B" aircraft in landing procedures under VFR.[a]
- It was suspected that during the approach, the flight crew had their attention focused on the runway at the expense of maintaining a proper separation from terrain.
- It was also suspected that the pilot-in-command may have been influenced by his ten-year experience of flying long final approaches, making the actions automated in relation to the profile performed in the accident.[b]
- And finally, though it couldn't be determined, it is possible that the crew didn't use the available aeronautical charts, which could've further decreased the crew's already low situational awareness regarding the presence of power lines around the airport.[9]
Victims
[edit]All five people on board were killed. The plane was piloted by captain Geraldo Martins de Medeiros Júnior and copilot Tarciso Pessoa Viana.[10] Marília Mendonça, her uncle and producer were also killed instantly.[11][12][13]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Linha de distribuição atingida por aeronave com Marília Mendonça está fora da zona de proteção do aeroporto de Caratinga, diz Cemig" [Distribution line hit by aircraft with Marília Mendonça is outside the protection zone of Caratinga airport, says Cemig]. GLOBO.COM (in Brazilian Portuguese). Grupo Globo. 6 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-06. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ "Avião de Marília Mendonça caiu a 4 km do aeroporto em Caratinga" [Marília Mendonça plane drops 4 km from the airport in Caratinga]. Estado de Minas (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2021-11-05. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ "Marília Mendonça morre em acidente de avião na serra da Caratinga, em Minas Gerais" [Marília Mendonça dies in a plane accident in the Serra da Caratinga, in Minas Gerais]. El País Brasil (in Portuguese). 2021-11-05. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ Benevides, Gabriel (2021-11-05). "Avião com cantora Marília Mendonça cai no interior de Minas Gerais" [Airplane with singer Marília Mendonça crashes in the interior of Minas Gerais]. AEROFLAP (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "Accident Beechcraft C90A King Air PT-ONJ, 05 Nov 2021". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
- ^ "Cantora Marília Mendonça morre em acidente aéreo; o que se sabe até agora" [Singer Marília Mendonça dies in a plane crash; what is known so far]. BBC News Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ "Bombeiros retiram todos os corpos do avião de Maeilia Mendonça" [Firefighters remove all bodies from Marília Mendonça's plane]. Estado de Minas (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2021-11-05. Archived from the original on 2021-11-06. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ "Cemig confirma que avião com Marília Mendonça atingiu cabo de torre de alta tensão antes de cair em MG" [Cemig confirms that the plane with Marília Mendonça hit a high-voltage tower cable before crashing in MG]. G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2021-11-05. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ "Final report involving PT-ONJ" (PDF). CENIPA. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ "Quem são as outras vítimas do acidente de avião com Marília Mendonça" [Who are the other victims of the plane crash with Marília Mendonça]. G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 5 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
- ^ "Marília Mendonça morre aos 26 anos em queda de avião em Minas Gerais" [Marília Mendonça dies at age 26 in a plane crash in Minas Gerais]. G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 5 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ "Produtor geral de Marília Mendonça, uma das vítimas do acidente com avião, era baiano; conheça Henrique Ribeiro" [General producer of Marília Mendonça, one of the victims of the plane accident, was from Bahia; meet Henrique Ribeiro]. G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 5 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ "Ex-produtor de Cristiano Araújo, baiano morreu no acidente que matou Marília Mendonça" [Former Cristiano Araújo's producer, bahian died in the accident that killed Marília Mendonça]. Correio 24 horas (in Brazilian Portuguese). 5 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-07.