Brazil Questions Experimental Fleet After CA-9 Crash

A Comp Air CA-9 turboprop single crashed into a townhouse moments after takeoff from São Paulo Campo de Marte Saturday afternoon, killing the pilot and mining magnate Roger Agnelli and six members of his family. One person on the ground was also injured. Agnelli was formerly president of Vale, Brazil's largest private company.

The all-composite CA-9, tail number PR-ZRA, was registered as experimental, as are some 6,400 of Brazil's 18,400 general aviation aircraft. Civil Aviation Agency ANAC issued a statement on Monday focusing on the experimental status, noting, “The aircraft could not fly over densely populated areas, being an experimental aircraft without special authorization.”

The Brazilian Air Force told AIN that regional safety bureau Seripa IV would investigate, which is not usually done for experimental aircraft, and that the certified Honeywell TPE331-10 engine has been collected for analysis, along with air traffic control recordings, security camera images and witness reports.All papers were in order for the pilot, who has been flying since 1987, and for the aircraft, built in 2012. A YouTube video of PR-ZRA's assembly shows a U.S. crew installing the engine.