Porto Alegre – Chapecó

On October 1, 1997 at 09:45 PM, Porto Alegre – Chapecó experienced a crash involving Embraer EMB-121 Xingu, operated by Government of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, with the event recorded near Chapecó-Serafim Enoss Bertaso Santa Catarina.

The flight was categorized as ambulance and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

7 people were known to be on board, 7 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 2, crew fatalities: 2, passengers on board: 5, passenger fatalities: 5, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The aircraft was completing an ambulance flight from Porto Alegre to Chapecó, carrying five doctors and two pilots. On approach to Chapecó-Serafim Enoss Bertaso Airport by night, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. On final, the aircraft struck the ground and crashed 2,5 km short of runway 29. A passenger was seriously injured while six other occupants were killed. Few hours later, the only survivor died from his injuries.

Aircraft reference details include registration PP-EHJ, MSN 121-027, year of manufacture 1980.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately -27.1893°, -52.6453°.