A Cessna Citation 560XL XLS+ crashed into buildings during an approach to Santos airport, Brazil, in rain and mist, killing both crew and all five passengers.
The accident took place around 10:00 local time on 13 August. The aircraft was carrying Eduardo Campos – one of Brazil’s three leading presidential candidates – to a political rally in Santos after a short 180nm (333km) flight from Rio de Janeiro’s downtown Santos Dumont airport.
The business jet (PR-AFA) was first operated in 2011, and belonged to Brazilian biofuels industrial group AF Andrade.
Santos airport serves both the major seaport city of Santos and the resort town of Guarujá, and has a single paved runway of 1,390m (4,560ft).
The Citation’s last routine maintenance was in January this year and its airworthiness certificate was valid until February 2017. The aircraft was chartered to the Campos campaign team three months ago, and was not being operated by AF Andrade.
The accident coincided with the Latin American Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition, which was being held at São Paulo Congonhas airport some 27nm away.
The Brazilian air force’s air accident investigation and prevention centre has announced an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
