By the article, the “small Piper” was carrying: a 61yo man, his wife, their three daughters, an employee, and “several others.” That’s nine or ten people. If they had any baggage, that’s all the more weight. Sounds to me like the craft was overloaded.
Tragic for those innocent family members. Sounds like the pilot was way over takeoff weight.
GETTY Image crash site aerial:
I hope there’s no recording of the pilot yelling allahu ackbar. If so, the authorities will never be able to determine what happened.
A Piper PA-42-100 Cheyenne 400LS crashed shortly after takeoff from runway 24 at Canela Airport (QCN/SSCN), Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The ten occupants perished and the aircraft was destroyed.
Preliminary information indicates the aircraft hit a chimey of a house and came down at a store and a hotel in Gramado, resulting in a post crash fire. Adverse weather conditions prevailed at the time.
If it can carry 10 people it’s not what I would call “a small airplane.”
But that’s “journalists” for you.
I wonder if this will be covered by Pilot Debrief. Some of the rank stupidity in Gen Aviation is frightening.