Plane crash in Barcelos: what we know about the plane crash that killed 14 people in AM

A medium-sized aircraft crashed in the city of Barcelos, in the interior of Amazonas, on Saturday afternoon (16), leaving 14 people dead. The Embraer EMB-110 “Bandeirante” had 12 tourists on board, as well as a pilot and co-pilot.

The crash occurred around 3 pm (Brasília time) when the plane was trying to land in the city, which is around 400 km from the state capital, Manaus, where the aircraft departed. It was raining heavily at the time.

What we know about the accident

• The aircraft’s passengers left Manaus for Barcelos to practice recreational fishing. In an interview with CNN the mayor of Barcelos, Edson de Paula Rodrigues Mendes, informed that the plane was chartered by a businessman who works in the sport fishing sector in the city.
• The Embraer EMB-110 “Bandeirante” with registration number PT-SOG belonged to the company Manaus Aerotáxi and, according to a consultation on the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) portal, it had permission to operate normally. In a statement, the company regretted the accident and made itself available to the authorities to clarify the episode.
• As the mayor explained, the passengers were friends from Brasília, São Paulo and Minas Gerais, all of whom practiced sport fishing and had been visiting the city for many years. The victims, whose identities were not disclosed, are expected to have their bodies taken to Manaus this Sunday (17).
• “All of them were already used to sport fishing in Barcelos. Some of them have been fishing in the city for almost 20 years”, said Edson Mendes.

“Not normal weather”

Bodies of the 14 dead will be taken to Manaus on Sunday morning (17), says mayor | CNN PRIME TIME

• At the time of the plane crash, around 3 pm (Brasília time), it was raining heavily in Barcelos, according to the Civil Defense of Amazonas. Other planes even canceled landings at the city’s airport, according to the city’s mayor.
• “It rained a lot in the city, an unusual storm for the region. Two aircraft had given up on landing [no aeroporto da cidade]aborted the procedure and returned to Manaus”, reported Edson Mendes.

Causes will be investigated

• Investigators from the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Center (Cenipa), of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), were called on Saturday afternoon to work at the accident site.
• In a note, the agency stated: “Cenipa aims to investigate aeronautical occurrences, in order to prevent new accidents with similar characteristics from occurring. The conclusion of the investigations will take as short a time as possible, always depending on the complexity of each occurrence and, also, the need to discover possible contributing factors.”

*With information from CNN Agency and Pedro Jordão, from CNN, in São Paulo