Manaus – Tefé

On July 29, 1998 at 01:00 PM, Manaus – Tefé experienced a crash involving Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante, operated by Selva Táxi Aéreo, with the event recorded near Manacapuru Amazonas.

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was flight at a lake, sea, ocean, river crash site.

27 people were known to be on board, 12 fatalities were recorded, 15 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 44.4%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 24, passenger fatalities: 11, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is other causes. The EMB-110 Bandeirante operated on a domestic flight from Manaus to Tefé, Brazil. Although the airplane was certificated for a maximum of 19 passengers, there were 25 passengers on board. Also, for financial reasons the crew decided to take more fuel than necessary for this flight. This resulted in the airplane departing with an excess of weight of 852 kg. About 20 minutes into the flight the oil pressure of the no. 2 engine dropped. The crew reduced engine power to 72% and continued to Tefé. When the flight was 185 km from Manaus at FL85 the oil pressure dropped to 40psi and the TGT increased. The copilot shut down the engine and the captain turned the airplane around, back to Manaus. At 13:15 the crew contacted Manaus ACC reporting that they were returning on one engine. The overloaded airplane flying on one engine, began to lose height. During the descent the speed was kept around 105 kts which occasionally caused activated stick shaker. To lose weight, the left overwing exit was opened and luggage of the passengers was jettisoned. The airplane did not make it to Manaus and an emergency landing on the Manacapuru River was made. The Bandeirante landed hard on the water, causing an opening in the fuselage. It sank quickly.

Aircraft reference details include registration PT-LGN, MSN 110-343, year of manufacture 1982.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately -3.2997°, -60.6214°.