Seven charged over 2017 Cessna beach deaths

Seven people have been charged in relation to the death of two people, one an eight-year-old girl, when a light aircraft landed on the beach at Costa da Caparica, on the western coast of the district of Setúbal.

The fatal accident on August 2, 2017, was the result in an engine fault. Instead of landing in the sea, the pilot brough the aircraft down on the beach, with devastating effect.

Seven people now have been charged. The pilot, Carlos Conde D’Almeida, has been accused of two crimes of negligence himicide and of the dangerous driving of an aircraft,  despite claiming not to have receievd the indictment.

In addition to the pilot, three officials of the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) also have been charged.

The ANAC president, Luís Silva Ribeiro, the director of Operational Safety, Vítor Rosa, the head of the Department of Personnel and Training Licensing, José Queiroz have been accused of a lack of air transport security, aggravated by the fact that two people died.

Three people from the Aerocondor aviation school, which owned the light aircraft, also have been charged with the same crime: Ana Vasques, the school administrator, Ricardo Olim Freitas, director of training, and José Coelho, director of security.

On August 2, 2017, a Cessna 152 took off from the Cascais Aerodrome to Évora on a training flight. Shortly afterwards, when an engine failure was reported, an emergency landing was made on São João beach, on the Costa da Caparica.