Segurança de voo: desafios da fiscalização do garimpo na Amazônia

Abstract

This article analyzes the impacts of illegal gold mining in the Amazon from the perspective of flight safety, understood as the set of actions and measures aimed at preventing accidents and maintaining the operational integrity of aircraft, and airspace surveillance, defined as the monitoring, control, and suppression of irregular aerial activities by agencies such as DECEA, ANAC, and the Federal Police. The study begins with the observation of the intensive use of aircraft in clandestine operations, which poses risks to civil aviation, national sovereignty, and socio-environmental integrity. The main objective is to examine the structural and institutional gaps in the airspace control system in the region, while also discussing the relevance of aerial logistics for illegal mining, its connections with human rights violations, and the geopolitical dimension of the Amazon. The adopted methodology is qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive, based on bibliographic review, document analysis, and secondary data from official sources and recent investigations. The results highlight the complexity of the network of illegal activities, the State’s weaknesses in airspace enforcement, and the strategic role of new Technologies, such as drones and Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) systems, in expanding aerial supervision. It is concluded that flight safety in the region transcends the technical dimension, constituting an environmental, social, and geopolitical issue that requires integrated public policies, institutional strengthening, and international cooperation.