2014 Santos Cessna Citation accident

2014 Santos Cessna Citation accident

A Cessna Citation 560 XLS+ similar to the accident aircraft
Accident summary
Date August 13, 2014
Summary Under investigation
Site Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
Passengers 5
Crew 2
Injuries (non-fatal) 11 on the ground
Fatalities 7
Survivors 0
Aircraft type Cessna Citation 560 XLS+
Operator Af Andrade Enterprises and Holdings Ltd
Registration PR-AFA
Flight origin Brasilia International Airport, Brasilia
1st stopover Santos Dumont Airport, Rio de Janeiro
Destination Santos Air Force Base, Santos, Brazil

On 13 August 2014 a Cessna Citation 560 XLS+ crashed whilst carrying Brazilian Socialist Party presidential candidate Eduardo Campos. All seven people aboard the airplane were killed in the accident, which took place around 10 AM BRT while trying to land at Santos Air Force Base, near the city of Santos, São Paulo.[1] The pilot, co-pilot, a reporter, a photographer and two of Mr. Campos' campaign aides were among the dead.[2]

Crash

The 560XLS+ business jet took off from Santos Dumont Airport, Rio de Janeiro en route to Santos Air Force Base. Due to bad weather conditions at the destination the first landing attempt was abandoned, and contact was lost at 9:23 am local time. Around 10:00 am, the aircraft crashed into two houses and a gymnasium in Santos, breaking through the walls of several homes. Witnesses reported that the plane was on fire for a few minutes before the accident and tried to dodge the buildings.[3][4]

Santos
Location of Santos within São Paulo, Brazil

Aftermath

All seven people on board the aircraft were killed, including the former governor of the state of Pernambuco and presidential candidate in the 2014 Brazilian general election on October 5, Eduardo Campos; Pedro Almeida Valadares Neto, political adviser and a former congressman from Sergipe; adviser Carlos Augusto Ramos Leal Filho (known as Carlos Percol); campaign photographer Alexandre Severo Gomes da Silva; campaign cameraman Marcelo de Oliveira Lira; and two pilots, Marcos Martins and Geraldo Cunha.[5] Identification of the remains was carried out through the study of the DNA.[6] The Cockpit Voice Recorder did not record any of the conversations during the flight before it crashed.[7] Unlike bigger airplanes, the Cessna was not required by regulations to have a Flight Data Recorder.[8]

Residents of the local houses were taken to hospital with injuries, one was released immediately, and five others were admitted with minor injuries: two children aged 1 and 9, three women, one of whom is elderly.

References

  1. "Brazilian Presidential Candidate Killed In Citation Crash | Aviation International News". Ainonline.com. 2014-08-13. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  2. Lyons, John (2014-08-13). "Brazilian Presidential Candidate Eduardo Campos Dies in Plane Crash - WSJ". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  3. "8 people die after a plane crashed in Brazil". BBC News. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  4. "ASN Aircraft Accident for Cessna 560XLS+ Citation Excel Guarujá". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
  5. "Expectativa é de que enterro de Campos seja no domingo". Diario de Pernambuco (in Portuguese) (14 August 2014) (Recife). Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  6. "Corpos de Eduardo Campos e de equipe passarão por exame de DNA". Diario de Pernambuco (in Portuguese) (Recife). 13 August 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  7. "Brazil crash: Black box 'did not record Campos flight'". BBC News. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  8. Sorano, Vitor (August 15, 2014). "Caixa-preta não gravou diálogos do voo de Eduardo Campos, diz a Aeronáutica" [The black box didn't record speeches from Eduardo Campos's flight, Air Force says]. Tribuna da Bahia Online (in Portuguese). Retrieved September 30, 2014.