Marília Mendonça accident was caused by pilot error, police say

Tragedy

Professionals in command of the aircraft, also killed at the time, acted recklessly, according to investigations

The crash of the plane carrying singer Marília Mendonça occurred due to the error of the pilots who were driving the aircraft, according to an investigation by the Civil Police of Minas Gerais whose conclusion was announced this Wednesday (4).

The accident occurred on November 5, 2021 when the singer and her team arrived in Caratinga, in the eastern region of Minas Gerais, for a show. The aircraft crashed into a power transmission tower as it approached the airport.

In addition to the singer, the pilot, Geraldo Medeiros, the co-pilot, Tarcísio Pessoa Viana, the singer’s uncle and advisor, Abicieli Silveira Dias Filho, and the producer Henrique Ribeiro, died in the accident.

The pilots were charged with manslaughter, when there is no intention to kill. As they died, the investigation will be sent to the Court with a recommendation for archiving, according to the police.

According to investigations, the pilots acted recklessly and negligently, as they were not aware of the characteristics of the region before beginning their descent, which needs to be done in the case of landing without the assistance of a control tower, as was the case.

The analysis of the region’s characteristics can be done using aeronautical documents or by reconnaissance flight, which, according to the Civil Police, was not done.

Throughout the investigation, hypotheses such as aircraft failure, sudden illness and alcohol abuse on the part of the pilots and, a more remote possibility, an attack were ruled out.

The tower against which the plane collided, which belongs to Cemig, the Minas Gerais Energy Company, was not marked. However, according to delegate Ivan Lopes Sales, responsible for the Civil Police regional office in Caratinga, there was no obligation for him to be there.

This is because, according to the delegate, the tower was at a distance from the airport that allowed for the lack of signage. “Today it is marked, but due to a recommendation from Cenipa [Centro de Investigações e Prevenção de Acidentes Aeronáuticos]”said the delegate.

The tower was not in the airport’s so-called protection area. Therefore, according to the delegate, the entire responsibility for recognizing the area lies with the aircraft pilots.

The investigations also showed that, in part of the descent movement, the aircraft’s speed was above that predicted by the plane’s manual. For the police, operational procedures were not respected.

“Faced with this scenario of negligence and malpractice, the Civil Police attributed responsibility for the aircraft crash to the pilots,”

stated the delegate.

In May, the final report from Cenipa, the Center for the Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents, on the accident pointed out that an “inadequate assessment” of the pilots was one of the factors that contributed to the crash of the aircraft.

The report says that the failure occurred when the plane was close to the airport. The pilot would have started to descend and approach the runway at a greater distance than expected for an aircraft of that size.

The practice, which tends to provide a more comfortable landing for passengers, increases the risk of collisions, since, at a lower distance from the ground, objects can be more difficult to identify in advance.

Those responsible for the report, however, point out that the decision may have been made in an “unconscious process” by the pilots generated by their long experiences with commercial aviation.

*With information from Folha de S.Paulo

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