Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont airport was shut on Thursday after a private Embraer Phenom 100, registered PS-VEE, veered off the runway during landing and came to rest on the grass beside it. The aircraft carried a pilot and one crew member, both of whom escaped without injury, while the disruption quickly rippled through one of Brazil’s busiest short-haul business corridors.
Airport teams halted operations so the aircraft could be removed, leaving the city’s downtown hub temporarily unable to handle arrivals or departures. Flights were diverted to Rio-Galeão and multiple departures were cancelled as the situation developed, with the exact totals varying across early reports. The Brazilian aviation accident investigation authority opened a probe into the runway excursion.
The aircraft was privately registered and not authorised for commercial taxi work, a regulatory detail that provides background but does not alter the immediate cause of the incident. Santos Dumont is a key link in the Rio-São Paulo shuttle market, so even a short closure can affect a dense schedule of business travel across the route.