Brazilian country music star Rick Sollo, one half of the hugely popular duo Rick & Renner, has died after a helicopter crashed in southern Brazil, killing all five people on board.
He was 59.
Sollo, whose real name was Geraldo Antônio de Carvalho, was traveling Monday, Sept. 21, from Porto Belo to São Joaquim in the southern state of Santa Catarina when the Bell 430 helicopter lost contact during the flight.
An extensive search was launched involving the Brazilian Air Force, firefighters, rescue crews, drones and search dogs.
The wreckage was located the following day in a remote, heavily wooded area of the Serra Catarinense.
Authorities confirmed there were no survivors.
Along with Sollo, the crash killed businessman Bruno Avelar de Souza, videographer Paulo Soares, pilot Antônio Roberto Nóbrega de Araújo and co-pilot Leopoldo Barros Teixeira.
The five victims were later formally identified through fingerprint analysis, and their bodies were released to their families by the medical examiner’s office in Florianópolis.
The group had reportedly been traveling to São Joaquim for a business visit.
According to local officials, they were expected to tour property in the area and discuss a possible investment.
The helicopter never arrived.
Search teams focused much of their attention near Urubici after the aircraft’s last known position and cellphone signals helped narrow the search area.
The mountainous terrain, thick forest and poor weather conditions made the operation difficult.
The cause of the crash has not yet been established.
Brazil’s Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents, known as CENIPA, has opened a technical investigation and is collecting information from the wreckage and flight data.
Brazilian authorities have also opened a police inquiry into the deaths, a standard step in fatal aviation accidents.
The helicopter, built in 2001, was registered and its airworthiness certificate was valid through August 2027, according to Brazilian media reports citing civil aviation records.
Sollo’s death has sent shockwaves through Brazil’s sertanejo music community.
Rick & Renner rose to national fame in the 1990s and became one of the best-known duos in the genre, which is often compared to country music in the United States.
Their best-known songs included “Ela É Demais,” while Sollo also built a respected career as a songwriter and producer.
He wrote songs recorded by several other major Brazilian acts, including Chitãozinho & Xororó, João Paulo & Daniel and Leandro & Leonardo.
Sollo began singing as a child and eventually moved into professional music before forming the partnership that would make him famous.
He and Renner released multiple albums and became fixtures of Brazilian country music through decades of touring and recording.
The pair experienced periods apart before eventually reuniting.
Their music remained especially popular with fans who grew up during the duo’s peak years in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Following news of Sollo’s death, fellow musicians and public figures across Brazil posted tributes remembering both his voice and his influence on sertanejo music.
Artists including Ana Castela, Zé Neto & Cristiano, Bruno & Marrone, Sérgio Reis and others publicly mourned his death.
His death is the latest aviation tragedy to shake Brazil’s music world, where grueling travel schedules often require performers to move quickly between distant cities for shows and appearances.
For now, investigators are focused on determining exactly what caused the Bell 430 to go down.
Sollo’s funeral is scheduled to take place in Sorocaba, São Paulo, on Thursday, Sept. 24.