Selva Taxi Aéreo accident

The Selva Taxi Aéreo crash occurred on 29 July 1998, when a heavily overloaded Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante of the Brazilian regional airline Selva Taxi Aéreo had to ditch in the Manacapuru River on a flight from Manaus to Tefé in the Amazon region. 12 of the 27 people on board were killed in the incident. The Embraer EMB 110 is certified for only 21 people.

Accident sequence

The aircraft was operating a domestic flight from Manaus to Tefé. The distance of the route is 518 kilometres. Although the aircraft was certified for only 19 passengers, 25 passengers were taken on board. Together with the two crew members, there were thus 27 people on board. In addition, for economic reasons it had been decided to fuel the aircraft in Manaus, which is a free trade zone, with more kerosene than was needed for the flight. On departure the aircraft weighed 6522 kilograms, thereby exceeding its permissible maximum takeoff weight by 852 kilograms.

About 20 minutes after the aircraft's takeoff, there was a sudden drop in oil pressure in engine No. 2. The crew reduced engine thrust to 72 percent and continued the flight towards Tefé. When the aircraft was 185 kilometres from Manaus at an altitude of 8500 feet (approx. 2600 metres), the oil pressure dropped to 40 psi, while the turbine exhaust gas temperature (TGT) rose. The first officer shut down the engine and the captain turned back towards Manaus. At 13:15 the crew contacted air traffic control in Manaus and reported that the aircraft was returning to the airport with only one operating engine.

The permissible payload of twin-engine aircraft is usually set so that they remain able to fly even after the failure of one engine. The significantly overloaded Embraer, however, with only one engine in operation began increasingly to lose altitude. During the descent a constant airspeed of 105 knots (approx. 195 km/h) was maintained, which under the given circumstances led to the stall warning system being repeatedly activated.

In order to reduce the aircraft's weight, the overwing exit was opened and passengers' baggage was thrown out in flight. The aircraft nevertheless did not manage to stay in the air until Manaus and finally had to ditch on the Manacapuru River, about 70 kilometres west of the town of the same name and around 100 kilometres west of Manaus.

About 20 minutes after the crew had informed air traffic control of the engine failure, the aircraft struck the water hard. Since the fuselage ruptured in the process and the cabin filled with water, the wreck quickly sank in the river. 12 people were killed in the accident, including the two pilots and 10 of the 25 passengers.