Brazilian Air Force reports drones in Santos (SP); Air Force denies it.
The Brazilian Air Force warned the crew of the jet carrying Eduardo Campos about the presence of unmanned aerial vehicles (so-called drones or UAVs) in the vicinity of the Santos air base (SP), where the accident that killed the candidate occurred; however, the Air Force denied the possibility that this type of equipment brought down the plane.
Pernambuco 247 - A Brazilian Air Force (FAB) Notice to Airmen (Notam) alert regarding landings and takeoffs informed the crew carrying candidate Eduardo Campos about the presence of unmanned aircraft (so-called drones or UAVs) in the vicinity of the Santos air base, on the coast of São Paulo state, where the accident that killed the former governor and six other people occurred.
The newspaper Correio Braziliense, which claimed to have had access to the document, reported that the technical note points to the existence of drones in that area of airspace where the accident occurred between August 11 and 31. The newspaper raised the possibility that a drone may have moved from the permitted area to the location where Campos' plane was flying.
The Air Force, however, denied the possibility of such a device having brought down the aircraft. The Cenipa (Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents) team continues to investigate the causes of the accident.