2009 Manaus Aerotáxi Embraer Bandeirante crash

The crash of an Embraer EMB-110P1 Bandeirante owned and operated by Manaus Aerotáxi occurred in the state of Amazonas in Brazil on February 7, 2009. At 13:50 local time, a Manaus Aerotáxi Embraer EMB-110P1 Bandeirante twin turboprop, registration PT-SEA, operating as an air taxi flight from Coari (SWKO) to Manaus (SBEG), crashed into the Manacapuru River about 80 km southwest of its destination, killing the two crew and 22 of the 26 passengers on board. The four surviving passengers, who were seated in the rear, managed to escape the sinking plane and swim safely to shore. Among the passengers were eight small children of whom one survived, and a family of 17, two of whom survived.

Crash

The Embraer EMB-110P1 Bandeirante twin turboprop aircraft, registration PT-SEA and serial number 110352, was carrying twenty-eight people, though it was certificated for twenty-one. Shortly before the crash, the pilot reportedly attempted to turn back to Coari due to heavy rainfall, but then had to make an emergency landing at an abandoned runway of the city of Manacapura. Survivors said they saw one of the airplane's propellers stop rotating before the crash.

The plane plunged into the river at a point about 500 meters from the abandoned runway, and 20 minutes away from its intended destination Manaus, and it submerged to a depth of about five to seven meters. The four survivors (three adults and one nine-year-old child), who were sitting at the rear of the plane, managed to open an emergency exit and reach the surface; they did not suffer major injuries.

Nearly forty rescue workers, including nine scuba divers and civil defense officials, spent the night searching through the jungle for survivors. Rescue crews were able to recover all twenty-four bodies; all deaths were attributed to drowning. The victims were fifteen adult passengers, seven children, and the two crew members.

The newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported that the plane was packed with members of one family on their way to Manaus to celebrate the birthday of a relative. Fifteen of the fatal victims and two survivors belonged to this family. Paulo Roberto Pereira, a spokesman for the charter company involved, initially misreported the number of people on board, saying that there had been twenty-two passengers and two crew members aboard but later increased that figure to twenty-six passengers and two crew members.