2021 Palmas FR plane crash explained

2021 Palmas FR plane crash
Image Upright:1.15
Type:Crashed shortly after takeoff due to overloading[1]
Occurrence Type:Accident
Site:Porto Nacional, Tocantins
Aircraft Type:Beechcraft Baron 95-B55
Operator:Construtora Meirelles Mascarenhas Ltda
Tail Number:PT-LYG
Origin:Associação Tocantinense de Aviação Aerodrome, Tocantins
Destination:Santa Genoveva Aerodrome, Goiás
Passengers:5
Crew:1
Fatalities:6
Survivors:0

The 2021 Palmas FR plane crash took place on January 24, 2021, when a private Beechcraft Baron belonging to the Palmas Futebol e Regatas, a Brazilian association football team, crashed on takeoff from Associação Tocantinense de Aviação Aerodrome, a private airfield near Porto Nacional, Tocantins, Brazil.[1] All six people on board were killed: four footballers, the team's owner, and the pilot.[2] The team was en route to Goiânia[3] for a regional cup football game between Palmas and Vila Nova, for the Brazilian Copa Verde championship.[4] [5]

Victims

In a statement released to various media outlets such as CNN Brazil, it was announced that six deaths had occurred. Among the victims of the crash were identified as football players Marcus Molinari, Lucas Praxedes, Guilherme Noé, and Ranule, team president Lucas Meira plus the pilot Wagner Machado.[4] [6] [7] The four footballers who died had been travelling separately from the rest of their team because they had tested positive for COVID-19.[8]

Investigation

The Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA) performed a post-crash accident investigation and issued a final report dated March 30, 2023.[1]

Ground witnesses told CENIPA that the aircraft lifted off the runway and pitched up but did not climb; it then touched down briefly while still over the runway, lifted off a second time, and the landing gear retracted. The aircraft then settled in a wings-level attitude and crashed past the end of the runway, slightly to the left of the extended runway centerline. An intense post-crash fire consumed the bodies of the aircraft occupants and all baggage and paperwork in the fuselage.[1]

CENIPA found that the occupants and baggage were not weighed before the flight, and was unable to verify precise aircraft weight and loading due to the fire damage, which CENIPA said presumably obliterated any weight-and-balance paperwork that the pilot may have completed. However, based on information gathered from the football team and the owner and players' relatives and friends, CENIPA calculated that the aircraft was loaded far in excess of its permissible gross weight, possibly by about, and it was loaded about beyond its aft center of gravity (CG) limit; furthermore, the retraction of the landing gear would have caused the CG to shift even further aft. CENIPA stated that the probable cause of the accident was a loss of lift and control caused by improper loading; contributing factors were the pilot's failure to follow operational standards, his poor flight planning which did not take proper weight and balance into account, and his failure to reject the takeoff when the plane would not climb.[1]

See also

References

Citations

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Final Report . 2023-05-30 . . 2023-12-18.
  2. Web site: Beechcraft 95-B55 Baron Crashes at Palmas–Brigadeiro, Brazil. Ivan. Serrano. Jan 24, 2021. Jan 25, 2021. January 24, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210124210817/https://airwaysmag.com/newswire/beechcraft-baron-crashes-brazil/. live.
  3. Web site: Farrugia. Cedric. 2021-01-24. Plane crash kills Palmas FR club president and 4 players. 2021-01-24. Newsbook. en-US. 2021-01-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20210124173021/https://newsbook.com.mt/en/plane-crash-kills-palmas-fr-club-president-and-4-players/. live.
  4. Web site: Football news 2021: Palmas football club, plane crash, Lucas Meira, Lucas Praxedes, Guilherme Noe, Ranule, Marcus Molinari. Jan 24, 2021. Jan 25, 2021. January 24, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210124200501/https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/football-news-2021-palmas-football-club-plane-crash-lucas-meira-lucas-praxedes-guilherme-noe-ranule-marcus-molinari/news-story/79cd10be878b70e06fc1e98f61822b8a. live.
  5. Web site: Admin. Air Accident Kills President And Four Players Of Palmas Futebol E Regatas - Prime Time Zone » Sports » Prime Time Zone. 2021-01-24. en-US. 2021-01-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20210124151033/https://primetimezone.com/sports/air-accident-kills-president-and-four-players-of-palmas-futebol-e-regatas-prime-time-zone/. live.
  6. Web site: Torino send condolences to Palmas FR after plane crash Football Italia. 2021-01-24. www.football-italia.net. 2021-01-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20210124173606/https://www.football-italia.net/165342/torino-send-condolences-palmas-fr-after-plane-crash. live.
  7. Web site: Piloto do avião que caiu com jogadores do Palmas tinha mais de 30 anos de experiência, diz amigo. PT. Jan 25, 2021. Jan 27, 2021. January 25, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210125222657/https://g1.globo.com/to/tocantins/noticia/2021/01/25/piloto-do-aviao-que-caiu-com-jogadores-do-palmas-tinha-mais-de-30-anos-de-experiencia-diz-amigo.ghtml. live.
  8. Web site: Couzens. Gerard. 2021-01-24. The four deceased players from Palmas FR had COVID-19. live. 2021-10-24. Mail Online. https://web.archive.org/web/20210227012246/https://es.besoccer.com/noticia/tres-de-los-cuatro-fallecidos-de-palmas-fr-dieron-positivo-en-covid-19-944823 . 2021-02-27 .