Flying Construction Employees Home For Weekend

Team Empresa Aerea airline confirmed Saturday one of their Czech-made LET-410 commuter planes impacted a mountainside near Saquarema, about 60 miles east of Rio de Janiero. Two crewmembers and 17 passengers were lost in the Friday accident.

Contact with the aircraft was lost about halfway into a planned 40-minute flight to Rio from the city of Maceo. "Local residents heard the noise of the airplane then it collided with a mountain," airline official David Faria told Reuters.

The twin turboprop was carrying employees of the Hochtief construction company home to Rio for the weekend from Macae, where the company is building an administrative complex, said Faria.

No problems were reported with the plane before radio contact was lost, and investigator's still aren't sure what brought the plane down.

"The pilot had a lot of experience, more than 30 years experience," he said.

The Rio de Janiero-based airline entered service six years ago, and primarily serves personnel working in Brazil's oil industry.

FMI: www.dac.gov.br/principal/index.asp (in Portuguese)