Copacabana Banner-Plane Crash: Wreckage Recovered as Probes Intensify

Overview

• Authorities identified the pilot as Luiz Ricardo Leite de Amorim, 40, who was the sole occupant and was recovered from the sea after roughly two to two and a half hours of searches.
• A tug with a crane lifted the single‑engine aircraft, registration PT-AGB, from the water on Sunday and the structure was sent for forensic examination under CENIPA’s initial action by SERIPA III.
• Rio’s city government said the operator, Visual Propaganda Aérea, lacked authorization for Saturday’s banner flight and would be cited for irregular advertising, while the company’s broader alvará remains noted in reports.
• Police Civil opened a parallel inquiry as federal air-safety investigators collect evidence and preserve elements from the wreckage to support the determination of contributing factors.
• Local officials said it was the pilot’s first day towing banners for the company, and a risk specialist suggested a possible engine or control-system failure based on videos, though the cause remains officially undetermined.