They disappeared from radar and nobody knows where they are
Three Brazilian pilots from Santa Catarina vanished over remote Argentine territory after last radio contact near Bahía Bustamante on Wednesday afternoon. Severe weather including 40mm rainfall and strong winds, combined with possible ice formation on the unequipped aircraft's wings, are suspected factors in the disappearance.
- Three Brazilian pilots from Santa Catarina disappeared Wednesday over Chubut province, Argentina
- Last radio contact near Bahía Bustamante; no wreckage found despite ongoing searches
- Severe weather with 40mm rainfall and strong winds; suspected ice formation on aircraft wings
- Aircraft was a 2016 RV-10 without anti-ice protection or instrument-flight capability
A small aircraft carrying three Brazilian pilots—a gynecologist, businessman, and lawyer—disappeared over Argentina's Chubut province after departing El Calafate. Search operations continue with no wreckage found despite severe weather conditions.
A small aircraft carrying three Brazilian pilots vanished over remote Argentine territory on Wednesday afternoon, leaving families grasping for answers and rescue teams searching an inhospitable stretch of Patagonian coast. Gian Carlo Nercolini, a gynecologist from Santa Catarina, was flying alongside businessman Antônio Carlos Castro Ramos and lawyer Mário Pinho when their single-engine RV-10 plane disappeared from radar after departing El Calafate bound for Trelew. All three men held pilot licenses and were traveling to celebrate the 87th anniversary of the Comodoro Rivadavia Aero Club. The last radio contact came near the village of Bahía Bustamante in Chubut province, a desolate stretch between sea and coast where Argentine civil defense launched search operations around 5 p.m. on Wednesday. By Thursday morning, no wreckage, debris, or trace of the aircraft had been found.
Nercolini's daughter, Nicole, a 26-year-old student living in Curitiba, learned of the disappearance through a family friend. She and her aunt had urged her father not to make the trip, warning him about the harsh conditions in the region and the route across the Andes. Nercolini was a regular at the Santa Catarina Aero Club, visiting nearly every weekend, and held a private pilot license, but this was his first time traveling abroad for a flying event. The aero club had congratulated him on his private pilot certification in 2018. "I was already worried when I found out," Nicole told reporters. "There was almost no one there, it was an inhospitable place with lots of glaciers. My aunt also tried to convince him not to go because it passed through the Andes."
Weather appears to be a critical factor. Severe storms swept the area on Wednesday, with rainfall exceeding 40 millimeters in just hours and powerful wind gusts recorded throughout the region. According to the Lago Argentino Aero Club president, Freddy Vergnole, the three pilots were warned about deteriorating conditions before takeoff. They made an alternate stop in Puerto Deseado but chose to continue. Vergnole suggested that to avoid the storm, the pilots may have climbed too high, causing ice to form on the aircraft's wings—a particular hazard for a plane without anti-ice protection systems. "When you enter an ice formation, you need to be alert immediately," Vergnole explained to Argentine media. "You can notice the buildup on the nose or wing and need to descend to escape that situation right away."
The aircraft itself, a 2016 Flyer RV-10 with registration PP-ZRT, was not equipped for instrument flying, a significant limitation in adverse weather. Its maximum takeoff weight was 1,224 kilograms, and it was designed to carry three passengers. The Argentine National Aeronautical Navigation Authority revealed that the equipment that would have aided in locating the plane was never activated. Three aircraft departed from the same location that day, but two successfully reached Puerto Madryn. Only Ramos's plane failed to arrive.
Rescue operations have been hampered by the very conditions suspected in the disappearance. Aerial search efforts were suspended Thursday due to bad weather, though ground teams continued searching. Nicole, desperate for information, expressed uncertainty about what comes next. "They disappeared from radar and nobody knows where they are," she said. "Aerial searches continued through the night and ground searches resumed this morning, but they haven't found a single piece, no wreckage, nothing. I'm desperate for news. This situation is very difficult." Brazilian aviation authorities were reportedly preparing to provide support, pending approval from the Argentine government to expand rescue operations into what remains one of South America's most remote and unforgiving territories.
Citações Notáveis
I was already worried when I found out. There was almost no one there, it was an inhospitable place with lots of glaciers.— Nicole Nercolini, daughter of missing pilot Gian Carlo Nercolini
When you enter an ice formation, you need to be alert immediately. You can notice the buildup on the nose or wing and need to descend to escape that situation right away.— Freddy Vergnole, president of Lago Argentino Aero Club
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why would three experienced pilots, all licensed to fly, choose to continue into a storm they'd been warned about?
That's the question everyone's asking now. They made an alternate stop, so they clearly recognized the danger. But sometimes the pressure to reach a destination, especially for an event you've been planning to attend, overrides caution. Or perhaps they believed they could navigate around it.
The daughter mentioned ice forming on the wings. How quickly can that become dangerous?
Almost instantly, once you're in the right conditions. The problem is you can't always see it happening until it's too late. And this plane had no anti-ice system—it wasn't built for that kind of flying. If they climbed to get over the weather, they climbed right into the conditions that would kill them.
Three men, all successful in their own fields. Did they know each other well, or was this a chance gathering?
The source doesn't say they were close friends, just that they were all from Santa Catarina and all had pilot licenses. They may have been part of the same flying community—the aero club world is tight. But whether they knew each other well or were just three pilots heading to the same event, it doesn't change what happened.
The daughter said she's waiting for authorities. What's actually happening on the ground right now?
Ground teams are still searching, but they're looking at an enormous, empty landscape. No wreckage spotted, no signal, nothing. The weather that grounded the planes is the same weather that's making the search nearly impossible. It's a cruel irony.
What does it mean that the locating equipment was never activated?
It suggests either a technical failure or human error in the pre-flight checks. Either way, it means rescuers have no electronic signal to follow. They're searching blind, relying on visual spotting in terrain that's already swallowed the plane.