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| Date: | Friday 15 July 2022 |
| Time: | 19:55 |
| Type: |  Air Tractor AT-802AF Fire Boss |
| Owner/operator: | AgroMontiar |
| Registration: | CS-EDY |
| MSN: | 802A-0733 |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | between Orgal en Castelo Melhor, Guarda -
 Portugal
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Fire fighting |
| Departure airport: | Viseu-Gonçalves Lobato Airport (VSE/LPVZ) |
| Viseu-Gonçalves Lobato Airport (VSE/LPVZ) | |
| Investigating agency: | GPIAAF |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
An Air Tractor AT-802AF Fire Boss crashed between Orgal en Castelo Melhor, near the town of Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Guarda, after water scooping on the Douro river. The sole pilot perished and the aircraft was destroyed by fire.
According to witnesses, after loading the water in the river, the aircraft climbed-out in a right-hand turn, and having already cleared the top of the hill on the left bank of the Douro River, with a height of about 330 meters (1080 feet), began an abrupt nose and right wing down movement. This movement was immediately followed by the pilot's action with the emergency release of the water load being carried.
Due to the loss of control and without regaining attitude, the aircraft initially collided with the right wing on a first terrace, continuing with an energy dissipation dynamic along the following terraces before coming to rest 45 meters from the initial contact point.
Probable causes:
The determined cause for the accident was the aircraft loss of control on the climb phase in a right turn, after water scooping during a rural firefighting operation.
Contributing factors:
- the continues slow flight practiced by the pilot during the mission, with speeds close to the stall speed, reducing operational safety margins during maneuvers in flight;
- the water scooping method performed using subjective visual cues without a precise indication of the amount of water loaded, creating conditions for a probable exceedance of the aircraft maximum take-off mass;
- the prevailing wind condition with a significant tail component in the moments preceding the loss of control;
- the lack of operator’s procedures with mitigation actions, among pilots, after identifying a deviation from normal operations.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://liderairbag.com/andre-serra-the-pilot-who-died-while-fighting-a-fire-in-foz-coa/
https://sicnoticias.pt/pais/2022-07-15-Incendios-aviao-de-combate-cai-em-Vila-Nova-de-Foz-Coa-na-Guarda-2f02a664?utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=facebook&fbclid=IwAR280FGbhvc-q5WYpoxGvAjAeQ65Ux-OGaSMrsjqnE2N4XZeQYBGfbexZ40
https://g1.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2022/07/15/aviao-de-combate-a-incendios-cai-em-portugal.ghtml
https://www.publico.pt/2022/07/15/sociedade/noticia/aviao-combate-fogos-caiu-regiao-foz-coa-2013889
https://rr.sapo.pt/noticia/pais/2022/07/15/aviao-de-combate-a-incendios-cai-em-foz-coa/292475/
http://www.gpiaa.gov.pt/wwwbase/wwwinclude/ficheiro.aspx?tipo=0&id=10804&ambiente=WebSiteMenu
Location
Media:
#AccidenteAéreo en #Portugal de un avión contraincendios #AirTractor AT-802F #FireBoss de la empresa #Avialsa. Se ha estrellado en el río #Duero, cerca de #VilaNova de #FozCôa en La #Guarda. Descanse en Paz siempre este valiente aviador ?? pic.twitter.com/29XZhyW0HV
— Iván Castro Palacios (@ivancp25) July 16, 2022
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 15-Jul-2022 19:50 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 15-Jul-2022 20:33 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Location, Source, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 15-Jul-2022 23:38 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 16-Jul-2022 01:27 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 16-Jul-2022 06:34 | TFCOM | Updated [Registration, Cn, Operator, Narrative, ] |
| 16-Jul-2022 06:36 | harro | Updated [Registration, Cn, Operator, ] |
| 16-Jul-2022 06:49 | harro | Updated [Operator, Source, ] |
| 16-Jul-2022 12:22 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 19-Jul-2022 05:16 | Zanik | Updated [Registration, Operator, Source, Embed code, ] |
| 19-Jul-2022 05:21 | harro | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 22-Jul-2022 14:12 | Barac Bac Bac | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 01-Nov-2023 08:50 | harro | Updated |
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