Answers Sought for Why Citation Crashed While En Route
The Citation was cleared to climb to 41,000 feet before it vanished from radar and crashed.

Investigators in Brazil are still trying to determine what caused a Cessna Citation VII to plummet from a reported 36,000 feet and crash into a field on November 10. The aircraft belonged to Bradesco, Brazil's largest private bank, and the accident killed all four aboard. The two passengers who lost their lives were Marco Antônio Rossi, president of Bradesco’s insurance business, and Lúcio Flávio Condurú de Oliveira, president of one of its divisions. Also killed in the accident were pilot Ivan Morenilla Vallim (who had more than 10,000 flight hours and had worked for the bank for 32 years) and copilot Henrique Tofoli Pinto. 


According to accident investigation authority Cenipa, PT-WQH took off from Brasilia at 6:39 p.m. local time for São Paulo and disappeared from ATC radar at 7:04 p.m. It has been reported that the Citation had just been cleared to climb to 41,000 feet before it vanished from radar and crashed. The impact created a crater 15 feet deep and 40 feet wide. Apparently there was no distress call. The aircraft was said to be equipped with a CVR.