In the early afternoon of this Monday (06), eight of the 10 most followed aircraft in the world in the flight tracking website Flightradar24 were involved in the air effort in of Rio Grande do Sul. For a week now, the state has been facing the biggest floods in its history, which so far have left almost 90 dead and more than 100 missing.
At around 12:30, the most tracked aircraft was an Embraer KC-390 Millennium from the Brazilian Air Force, with just over 1900 people following the arrival of the FAB freighter at Canoas Air Base. Located in the metropolitan region of the capital, the organization is hosting most of the aircraft involved in the operation, which is now concentrated in greater Porto Alegre. Canoas, in fact, is one of the cities most affected by floods, with around 70% of its territory covered by water.
The ZEUS 58, an aircraft from the 1st Troop Transport Group, took off from Galeão Air Base and is still unsure of the contents taken to RS, which could be supplies or even a field hospital, made available by the Brazilian Army. In a press conference on Sunday (05), the southern military commander, Army General Hertz Pires do Nascimento, said that another hospital would be transported to Canoas.
Along with the FAB freighter, thousands also followed the path of seven other aircraft involved in the operation. Are they:
- A Leonardo Aw 169, possibly from the Rio de Janeiro Fire Department or Civil Police;
- Helicopter Leonardo Aw 139 (PR-OHY), from Omni Táxi Aéreo;
- The H125/AS350 Esquilo 'Águia 24' (PR-PUB) of the São Paulo Military Police Aviation Command;
- Pegasus 22, again a Squirrel (PP-EJS), this time from the Military Police of Minas Gerais;
- A private Airbus H130 (PS-JER);
- The Leonardo Aw 119 Koala 'Resgate 01' (PS-COA), from the RS Military Fire Department;
- Finally, the Brazilian Air Force's Airbus C-30 (FAB2902), which at the time was transporting the first 18 tons of donations collected by the Air Force itself for Rio Grande do Sul.
According to the Ministry of Defense, which coordinates Operation Taquari II in of Rio Grande do Sul, as of Sunday there were 32 military and public security helicopters involved in the mission. Counting the participation of dozens of civil helicopters, the number could exceed 60.
