“He should have waited for help,” says family of missing in helicopter

The sister of one of the people missing in the helicopter that left Campo de Marte, in the capital of São Paulo, bound for Ilhabela, on the coast, on Sunday (31) believes that there was a failure in the pilot's assessment during the journey. For Luciana Rodzewics' sister and Letícia Ayumi's aunt, two missing passengers, the pilot Cassino Tete Teodoro should have waited for help.

“He tried… but at these times we can’t try. There are things we can try: here, on the ground, stepping, knowing. Now the guy has a machine. So he did it wrong. He tried to do his best, I think it was a rush, I don't know, but he made a mistake. He should have just stood there, waiting for help. He was in a safe place based on the photos my niece sent”, said sales manager Silvia Santos.

The helicopter even made an emergency landing before continuing on its route and losing contact with the destination helipad. Letícia sent her boyfriend messages and photos that show that the group descended into a forested area, due to bad weather.

The pilot also made calls to the helipad he was heading to, reporting difficulties in crossing the mountain. The last contact was around 3 pm.

Pilot investigated

Cassino Tete Teodoro, responsible for the helicopter, is under investigation for irregular flights and had his license to fly revoked for two years, among other reasons, due to evasion of supervision, fraud in flight plans and practices involving clandestine air transport.

In October 2023, after the legal maximum period for the administrative penalty of revocation, Cassiano obtained a new license with qualification for Private Helicopter Pilot (PPH) and returned to the civil aviation system.

According to the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), however, this license does not give authorization to carry out commercial passenger flights. The aircraft was in a normal airworthiness condition, but was also not permitted to perform air taxi services. The family does not rule out that this may have been the reason for the attempt to resume the journey.

“This guy was… He should have stayed there, right? With a (cell phone) signal… all you had to do was send the location to the police; 'we're here'! It was wrong”, concluded Silvia.

The flight

Luciana, 46, and her daughter, Letícia Sawunoto, 20, received an invitation from a friend, identified as Rafael, to take an air trip to Ilhabela. According to Herika Torres, Rafael's sister, the plan was just to spend the New Year on the coast and return to the capital. “The intention was not to stay there for a long time,” she told CNN.

She also said that her brother already knew the pilot. “But I can’t confirm how the flight was booked,” she explained. The two families are following the search for the victims, which has already lasted three days, and maintain hope that the passengers will be found alive.

“I feel like they are in the woods, trying to survive. But Letícia and Luciana are very strong, they are warriors and they will get through this. They’re just waiting for help: for someone to take off and pick them up so we can celebrate the New Year,” said Silva.