São Paulo PM confirms death of four people in helicopter crash that was destined for the coast of São Paulo

The aircraft was found this Friday morning in Paraibuna, after 12 days of intense search. During the press conference, the colonel declared that there were no survivors in the accident.

Debris with identification of the helicopter found by the Brazilian Air Force in the city of Paraibuna, in the interior of São Paulo - Photo Reproduction/FAB

The Military Police of the State of São Paulo confirmed this Friday (12) the death of four people in a helicopter accident that was destined for the coast of São Paulo. According to information released by the agency, there are no survivors of the accident involving the missing helicopter. The aircraft was located this morning in the forest area of ​​Paraibuna, São Paulo. Colonel Ronaldo Barreto de Oliveira, commander of the state's Military Police Aviation, declared that "everyone is dead''. The helicopter was identified by the PM around 9:15 am, and later, a rescue team rappelled down to the accident site.The four victims of the aircraft crash were a mother and her daughter, aged 45 and 20, their friend, aged 41, and the pilot, aged 44.

The town of Paraibuna is located in the Vale do Paraíba area. The municipality is 120 kilometers from Campo de Marte, in São Paulo, the helicopter's starting point, and approximately 80 kilometers from Ilhabela, on the North Coast of the state, which was the flight's final destination.

Victims

Victims - Photo Reproduction/PM São Paulo

On the aircraft were the pilot, Cassiano Tete Teodoro, aged 44, and three passengers: Luciana Rodzewics, aged 45, her daughter Letícia Ayumi Rodzewics Sakumoto, aged 20, and their friend, Raphael Torres, aged 41. Luciana and Letícia were residents of the capital of São Paulo and lived in the Limão neighborhood, located in the North Zone of São Paulo, where the flight started. Both were autonomous.

According to reports from relatives, Letícia was employed in the beauty sector, working in a studio specializing in nail painting. Meanwhile, Luciana played the role of a salesperson in the food industry, where she sold salt to companies. Both accepted their friend Raphael's invitation for a day trip to Ilhabela, on New Year's Eve. Before disappearing, Letícia recorded a video from inside the helicopter, revealing the adverse weather conditions at the time.

Accident

The aircraft had been missing since December 31, when it left the city of São Paulo bound for Ilhabela, on the North Coast of the state. The PM Commander informed that, from now on, the investigation will be conducted by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) through Ceripa 4. Colonel Ronaldo Barreto de Oliveira clarified that the aircraft did not have a black box or any type of locator, as was verified from the beginning. He highlighted that the aircraft was not equipped with any resources to facilitate its location.

Searches

Since the disappearance was reported, a search operation has been mobilized, with the participation of the Brazilian Air Force, Military Police, Civil Police and São Paulo Fire Department. The helicopter left the capital of São Paulo on the last day of 2023 with four occupants, heading to Ilhabela to celebrate New Year's Eve, however, did not reach its planned destination. Since then, authorities have been committed to locating him. During the 12 days of searches, two FAB aircraft carried out more than 135 hours of flight, covering a total area of ​​five thousand square kilometers. The Military Police and Civil Police also actively participated in the search operations.

Operations were concentrated in the Serra do Mar area, covering the Paraíba Valley and the North Coast. Throughout the 12 days of search, locations such as Paraibuna - where the aircraft was found - Natividade da Serra, Redenção da Serra, Salesópolis and Caraguatatuba were flown over.

Location

During a press conference, Colonel Oliveira explained that the identification of passengers' cell phone signals by the Civil Police enabled the PM to reduce the search area from 5 thousand square kilometers to a radius of 12 kilometers. He highlighted that this reduction was made possible through an intelligent analysis by the civil police, which indicated the possibility of the passengers being in the area close to the Paraibuna base radio station, at km 54. Yesterday, an image of the helicopter flying in the vicinity of 58/60, reinforcing the information they already had about the region in which the searches were concentrated.

Delegate Milton Clemente, from the Civil Police's Strategic Police Operations Department, stated that initially the mission was "almost impossible", but after obtaining information, it became challenging.

"There was a lack of information, there was georeferencing in relation to an antenna, but we didn't have enough points to delimit a more precise search area. This was done through specific flights where we delimited the range and then managed to separate by quadrant. It was from this refinement in the search area", he explained.

He also highlighted the importance of equipping these small aircraft with locators. "If all aircraft, including small helicopters, had a localizer, a black box, this would simplify things a lot." In the image released by the Military Police, a clearing is visible between the vegetation and what appears to be the wreckage of the aircraft, scattered among the trees. After the rescue carried out by the PM, the Brazilian Air Force H-60 ​​Black Hawk helicopter headed to the location with a special team of nine people trained to carry out investigations, rappelling down to examine the area of ​​the helicopter's wreckage.