A fisherman and a sailor helped to locate the wreckage of a F-5 fighter gives Brazilian air force (FAB) who had been missing for 40 years. The pieces of the aircraft were found in Lagoa dos Patos, in Rio Grande do Sul.
According to the FAB, several parts of the F5E Tiger II fighter were located, such as the engines, landing gear, cannon, pylons, fuselage pieces, wing fragments, among other components.
The searches took place after the alert made by the fisherman Josoé Ortiz, a resident of Palmares do Sul (RS), who saw his mullet nets get caught in some submerged object near the bank of the deserts.
“Knowing that an F-5 fighter jet had disappeared in the region, he sent the images of small parts and the approximate location of the place to the sailor and civilian pilot Cristian Yanzer de Lima, who had been looking for clues from the F-5 for about five years” , said the Chief of Flight Safety Advisory at the Canoas Air Base, Major Aviator Cyríaco Bernardino Duarte de Almeida Brandão Júnior.
From then on, the authorities began the search on a Patrol Benevente Ship, with the help of a Navy boat and another from the Fire Department. The operation took place between the 7th and 10th of September.
“Before starting the mission, we held briefings on the technical aspects of the F-5 aircraft, on the location of the wreckage, in addition to defining the search procedures. The wreckage of FAB 4831 was located at a depth of approximately 7.5 meters”, included Major Brandão.
The operation took place after the sailor Cristian Yanzer started a scan with the Side Scan equipment (sonar system used for searching and detecting underwater objects), from the sailboat VIKYNG.
“Metallic reflections visible on the equipment screen indicated many pieces, some large, scattered across the bed of the Lagoon, in a different place than we expected, and about 100 meters from the place where the nets were placed. With the sonar images and parts delivered by Josoé, I immediately contacted V COMAR,” said Yanzer.
Disappearance
On July 28, 1982, the F-5E fighter, registration FAB 4831, piloted by Lieutenant Aviator Edson Luiz Chiapetta Macedo disappeared while performing, in the training area over Lagoa dos Patos, a simulated aerial combat against another F-5E, both stationed at the Canoas Air Base (BACO).
Despite the search, no traces of the supersonic jet or the pilot had ever been found, according to the FAB.
Years after the accident, the missing pilot was promoted post mortem to the rank of Major, that is, a promotion aimed at expressing military recognition killed in the line of duty or as a result of it.
“[Avisei] through Colonel Biasus, fighter pilot, and Ex-Commander of the Pampa Squadron and contemporary of the missing aviator in this fateful and sad accident. We did our best to fulfill this noble and humanitarian mission, asking God to soothe the grieving hearts of family and friends over the loss of their beloved loved one,” added the sailor.
Source: CNN Brasil
