Barreiras

Recently owned and operated by the US Air Force under the registration 43-48758, the plane was involved in accident and considered as damaged beyond repair. The aircraft was sold on the spot to Navegação Aérea Brasileira. Mechanics, not qualified for the job, were ordered to repair the aircraft. On September 21 the aircraft was authorized to carry out a 7-minute test flight. The day after, another test flight was planned. Shortly after takeoff on the second test flight, the left main undercarriage would not retract. Two minutes later the gear worked loose and struck the wing which folded upwards. The remaining (right) wing broke up and the airplane crashed vertically into the ground. All three crew members were killed.

The aircraft took off at 0657LT from Belém Airport, carrying 4 crew and 2 passengers, and had climbed to approximately 100 to 250 metres when the pilot noted signs of malfunctioning in the left engine. A violent stall and loss of power in this engine followed although the propeller continued to revolve. No emergency message was sent and the pilot did not press the feathering control. However, the rest of the emergency procedure appears to have been carried out or to have been in progress at the time of the crash. The hydraulic pump was off and this had the effect of stopping the retraction of the undercarriage half-way. The aerodynamic resistance of the semi-retracted undercarriage prevented the aircraft from maintaining altitude, carrying it down to 20 or 30 metres above the tree tops, possibly without this being noticed. There is reason to believe that the pilot was in the act of switching the fuel selector from one tank to the other when the left wing tip hit a tree breaking off 2.5 metres of the wing and half the aileron. The aircraft swerved 20 degrees to the left and nosed-up violently, The right engine at this time was on full power. The aircraft stalled and hit the ground 200 metres farther on. Explosion of the fuel tanks and fire followed. All six occupants were killed.

Crashed in unknown circumstances in Barreiras. There were no casualties.

The approach was completed in poor visibility due to foggy conditions when the aircraft hit the slope of a wooded hill located few km from the airport. All 22 occupants were killed.