A Piper PA-42-1000 Cheyenne 400 twin-turboprop crashed in Gramado in southern Brazil at about 9:15 a.m. on December 22, killing all on board and reportedly injuring 17 people on the ground. The aircraft, registration PR-NDN, departed Canela Airport (SSCN) and flew just under two miles before crashing. It was owned and piloted by Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, head of Galeazzi & Associados, a corporate restructuring and crisis management firm based in São Paulo.

Also onboard were Galeazzi’s wife, three children, Galeazzi & Associados director Bruno Cardoso Munhoz Guimarães, and other unnamed family members of Galeazzi. Several media reports indicate that 10 people were on board. Eduardo Leite, governor of the state of Rio Grande do Sul where Canela is located, said there were no survivors. Seventeen people on the ground were injured when the aircraft crashed into a furniture store. The accident is being investigated by Cenipa, Brazil’s accident investigation bureau.

The aircraft departed SSCN, field elevation 2,713 feet, in reportedly low visibility conditions. Canela Airport does not have Metar data available online, but Hugo Cantergiani Regional Airport (SBCX), 21 nm northwest of Canela, showed IFR conditions all day, with a ceiling of 600 feet at 11 a.m., the earliest recorded Metar for December 22. Historical flight data indicate the aircraft had made the trip from Jundiaí (SBJD) to SSCN two days prior to the crash. 

Gelazzi’s company confirmed the accident via LinkedIn, stating, “We inform our clients, business partners, suppliers, and friends that, even in the face of the irreparable loss of our CEO, Luiz Cláudio Galeazzi, and director Bruno Cardoso Munhoz Guimarães, Galeazzi & Associados reinforces its commitment to keep alive the legacy built over more than 30 years of operation.”

Piper only made 43 of the PA-42-1000 Cheyenne 400. The twin-turboprop has an empty weight of 7,565 pounds and a maximum takeoff weight of 12,050 pounds, with 582 gallons (about 3,492 pounds) fuel capacity. Useful load is 4,485 pounds, with 993 pounds of payload available with full fuel tanks. Depending on configuration, the Cheyenne 400 could seat up to 10 passengers and the pilot. 

Gramado and Canela are tourist destinations, Canela being most famous for its Christmas light display, which was canceled after the accident. Most of the victims on the ground suffered smoke inhalation while having breakfast at a hotel beside the crash site.