Aeronautical Specialist of Criminalistics Company evaluates the loss of support of the King Air F90 and its fall on an avenue in the West Zone of São Paulo
The fall of the King Air F90 plane in the West Zone of Sao Paulo on the morning of Friday (7.FEV.2025) may have been caused by failure in the aircraft motorcycle group, according to Márcio Patrício de Oliveira of Sewell Criminalistics.
“Possibly, the aircraft lost effectiveness in its motor group, which is why it did not achieve the desired altitude and, therefore, there was loss of support.”says the aeronautical expert of the company.
It happened around 7:20 am on Marquês de São Vicente Avenue, in Barra Funda, about 5 minutes after the takeoff from Campo de Mars. The PS-FEM registration aircraft hit a bus. The 2 crew died. On soil, 7 people were injured.
The King Air F90, manufactured by the US company Beech Aircraft in the 1970s, has a maximum takeoff weight of 4,967 kg and capacity for 8 passengers. The aircraft was equipped with Pratt & Whitney engine PT-6 and Hartzell HC-B4TN-3A Hartzell, 4-paddles.
According to the expert, the investigation of the accident will follow 3 phases:
- Collection of information on aircraft, pilots and flight plan;
- data analysis;
- and preparation of preliminary, intermediate and final reports.
Police and aeronautics investigate the causes of the fall. The aircraft had been acquired in December 2024 by the company Máxima Intelligence Structured Operations and Empreendimentos, owned by Márcio Carpenna, a lawyer who was on board and died with pilot Gustavo Carneiro.
The fatal flight would be the 2nd carpena in the aircraft. The lawyer made his first trip to Uruguay on December 26, also under the pilot’s command.
Among the injured are a rider hit by wreckage, a bus passenger and the collective driver, who suffered an anxiety crisis. According to witnesses, the plane tried to make an emergency landing on the avenue.
2024 was the most lethal year of the decade in aviation
The accident happens after 2024 records the largest number of deaths in Brazilian aviation in the last 10 years. There were 153 victims in 175 air accidents last year, surpassing the previous record of 104 deaths in 2016, according to data from SIPAER (Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention System).
São Paulo, a state that leads statistics with 287 occurrences in 2024, recorded the most serious accident: the crash of a Voepass commercial plane in Vinhedo on August 9, which killed 62 people — The largest air tragedy in the country since 2007. The preliminary report of Cenipa (Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Center) pointed to the formation of ice in the wings as a possible cause.
Expert Márcio Patrício de Oliveira of Sewell Criminalistics explained that smaller aircraft are more susceptible to accidents because they have limited resources.
“There are no systems with redundant devices, which are failed proof”said Oliveira. According to him, the human factor is also crucial in this equation, involving physiological, psychological, ergonomic and organizational aspects, as well as the possible non -compliance with regulations of ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency).
In December, another major accident occurred when a turbooelice fell in Gramado (RS), killing 10 people. The year 2024 also recorded 20 accidents with helicopters, resulting in 15 deaths in 7 fatal occurrences.
The accident of this Friday increases to 12 the number of deaths in air accidents in Brazil in 2025. In the first 38 days of the year, 21 accidents have been recorded, according to data from Sipaer, administered by Cenipa.
All fatal occurrences in 2025 involved small aircraft in private or agricultural operations. The most recent accident had occurred on January 27, in Cruzília (MG), in the landing of an agricultural recognition plane, killing 3 people. Days earlier, on January 16, the fall of a helicopter in São Paulo resulted in 2 deaths.
