Early on Monday (Sept 21), at the airport in Jundiaí, in the interior of São Paulo state, singer Rick posted a video of himself greeting businessman Bruno Avelar. According to Folha de S.Paulo, the two boarded a private jet at 7:32 a.m. bound for the coast of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil, with landing scheduled for 8:36 a.m. In the late afternoon, the helicopter that took them from Porto Belo, on the state's northern coast, lost contact, and the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) and the state's Military Fire Department began a search.
Besides the singer, those on board were businessman Bruno Avelar, a videographer who works with him and the pilot, according to the two men's press offices; the names of the last two were not released. Rick's office said, at around 5 p.m., that the aircraft had lost communication. The helicopter was expected to land in São Joaquim, in the Santa Catarina highlands, according to firefighters. In a statement, the FAB confirmed it is coordinating the rescue:
"The Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Center of Curitiba [ARCC-CW], responsible for coordinating Search and Rescue actions in the region, began the investigation and planning actions required to define the area of highest probability of locating the aircraft."
The search in the highlands
Teams are focusing on the area around Urubici, about 190 km (120 miles) from Porto Belo. At around 4 p.m., firefighters received a call about a possible crash near the hamlet of Vacas Gordas; a crew reached the spot and found no trace of the aircraft. The operation was then expanded to the area where the last cell phone signal from one of the people on board was recorded, near São Joaquim, about 30 km (18 miles) from the first point. "One team has already reached the site and nothing was found. We also have the information on the last cell phone signal point from one of the people on this aircraft. At this moment, the teams are moving to that location to carry out searches," said Lieutenant Colonel Heloísa, commander of the 5th Military Fire Battalion.
About 20 firefighters are taking part, on foot and in 4x4 vehicles, along with two FAB aircraft, a Black Hawk (H-60) helicopter and an SC-105 Amazonas plane, according to Folha. Weather in the region is closed in, with rain, gusting winds and a hail warning, and on Tuesday (22) the search will be reinforced by troops from the 2nd and 5th battalions, with the support of a search dog.
The aircraft, a Bell 430 registered PP-MGR, seats seven passengers plus the pilot and belongs to JTA Empreendimentos e Urbanismo. In a statement, the company confirmed the helicopter had been lent to Bruno Avelar and the singer, close friends of the owner, and said "there is still no confirmation of an accident involving the aircraft," asking that unconfirmed information be treated with caution. According to Anac, Brazil's civil aviation regulator, cited by Folha, the aircraft's paperwork was in order, with an airworthiness certificate valid until Aug 11, 2027; the model was not authorized to operate as an air taxi or in training flights.
Rick, of the duo Rick and Renner
Rick is half of Rick and Renner, a duo formed in the 1980s that became nationally famous in the 1990s with hits such as "Ela é demais" and "Nos bares da cidade", as G1 recalls. They sing sertanejo, the country-style genre that ranks among Brazil's most popular music, and Rick was still active almost four decades after the duo began.
On Monday morning, the video of Rick and Avelar greeting each other beside the jet in Jundiaí was the singer's last public image. Since late afternoon, all that remains of it is the trail of a cell phone signal that went dark somewhere in the mountains, where firefighters keep working in the rain and where, from Tuesday, a search dog will help cover the area of the last contact.