Araçatuba

On approach to Araçatuba Airport runway 22 under IFR mode, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with limited visibility due to heavy rain falls. A first approach was abandoned and a second few minutes later. During a third attempt to land, the crew decided to switch to VFR mode and descended too low when, while completing a last turn, the aircraft struck the ground and crashed few hundred meters short of runway 22 threshold. Both pilots and five passengers were killed while eight other occupants were injured.

After landing at Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont Airport, the airplane was unable to stop within the remaining distance, overran and came to rest into the Guanabara Bay about 100 metres past the runway end. All eight occupants were quickly rescued and the airplane sank 30 minutes later.

At liftoff, control was lost. The airplane contacted ground, causing the nose gear to collapse. The airplane slid for several yards before coming to rest on its nose. All four crew members were slightly injured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. It was later reported that the flight was illegal, that the takeoff was initiated from an inappropriate terrain and that the aircraft was carrying 15 tons of smuggled cigarettes.