2021 Piedade de Caratinga Beechcraft King Air crash

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2021 Piedade de Caratinga Beechcraft King Air crash

The aircraft involved in the accident, less than three months before the accident.
Accident
Date	5 November 2021 (2021-11-05)
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 / -19.768194; -42.1076722[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.

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]

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]

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]

• List of fatalities from aviation accidents