Andre Serra, 38, piloted the Fire Boss aircraft and prepared for the final drop while fighting the Urros forest fire in Torre de Moncorvo, July 15, 2022. The conclusion is provided by the Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft and Railway Accidents, which investigated the incident. Andre poured water into the Douro, and on the way up the plane began to “suddenly move, the pilot lost control of it, crashed into a terrace and stopped 45 meters away, where it caught fire after its fuel tanks exploded.” – he summarizes the investigation. “The continued practice of slow flight, a method of loading water based on subjective visual references without accurately indicating the amount of water loaded, and prevailing wind conditions” were some of the factors that contributed to the fatal crash.
That day, the pilot, who had more than 4,000 hours of flight time, “was designated as a reserve pilot and assigned to fly in place of a colleague who would be the team leader on the emergency flight.” He eventually lost control of the aircraft after manually loading water, crashed and died in a vineyard in Quinta do Crasto, in Castelo Melchor, Vila Nova de Foz Coa.