FAB collects black box from helicopter that crashed in Santa Catarina with singer Rick on board

The Brazilian Air Force collected this Wednesday (23) the black box from the helicopter in which singer Rick and four other people were traveling. The equipment will be taken to Brasília and will help clarify what happened in the final moments of the flight in Serra de Santa Catarina.

Experts arrived by helicopter at the crash site. In the middle of the dense forest, they began to analyze the wreckage of the aircraft.

"Working with drones to survey the area, and also with a three-dimensional scanner, in which we will be able to permanently record what happened, the wreckage, where it was, what was left, what was left of the aircraft, how it happened. Then, we can access this and provide it to the Aeronautics Command teams, if necessary, so that one team can support the other", says Fernando Lonzetti, criminal expert at the Scientific Police/SC.

In the early evening, the FAB released images of the helicopter's black box. The equipment records flight data and cabin communications. There are two parallel investigations: that of the Civil Police of Santa Catarina and that of the Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents, of the Brazilian Air Force. Work that may clarify how a flight that was already in the final approach phase ended in tragedy.

Rick accident: meteorological radar images show a cold front advancing through the Serra Catarinense at the time of the flight — Photo: Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction

The helicopter disappeared around noon on Monday (21), during a flight between Porto Belo and São Joaquim. The last signal from the aircraft was emitted in the Urubici region, in Serra Catarinense. The weather was unstable in the region.

The wreckage was located in an area of ​​mountains and dense forest. Civil Defense meteorological radar images show a cold front advancing through Serra Catarinense at the time of the flight.

"The Urubici region was in a pre-frontal condition, which we call in meteorology, which is when we have intense gusts of wind occurring at a time before the advance of more intense storms. The Civil Defense meteorological stations near Urubici recorded wind gusts close to 70 km/h, but, at altitude, these gusts could be even more intense", explains Felipe Theodorovitz, meteorologist at the Civil Defense of SC.

Civil Defense meteorological radar images show a cold front advancing through the Serra Catarinense at the time of the flight — Photo: Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction

Aeronautical engineer and USP professor Jorge Eduardo Medeiros says that the main answer may lie in reconstructing the last minutes of the flight and the information available to the crew:

"Did this pilot know exactly where he was? If he knew where he was, he would have been able to know exactly what the level of the terrain was, what the altitude of the terrain was, the height of the terrain. He had a GPS that gave his position, electronic, digital, whatever, that said at that point, he was at that point and the altitude of the terrain at that point was exactly that,".

Antonio Roberto Nobrega de Araujo, helicopter pilot, was laid to rest in São Paulo. In Pongaí, in the interior of São Paulo, family and friends said goodbye to co-pilot Leopoldo Barros Teixeira. The wake of video producer Paulo Soares took place in Jandira, in Greater São Paulo.

The body of businessman Bruno Avelar will be buried this Thursday (24), in Belo Horizonte. Singer Rick's wake is scheduled for this Thursday (24), in Sorocaba, in the interior of São Paulo. It will be reserved for friends and relatives.

On social media, Rick's wife, Geralda Helena, paid tribute to her husband. He began by asking: “How do I say goodbye to you after 42 years?” And he ended the message by saying:

“My love for you will be eternal.”

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