Geralda Helena, the widow of Brazilian singer Rick Sollo, has shared a reflection on grief following his death in a helicopter crash. She posted the message on social media on Saturday, October 3, just over ten days after the fatal accident in the southern state of Santa Catarina.
Rick Sollo, born in 1966, died on September 21 when the private aircraft went down in the Serra Catarinense mountain range. He was travelling with four other people, and all five occupants were killed when the helicopter crashed into the terrain.
Helena reflected on her loss in a post published on her Instagram stories. She said that longing for someone who would never walk through the front door again was the most painful and devastating experience a human being could endure.
The couple had been together for roughly 40 years. Following the crash, Helena had published a statement bidding farewell to her husband, describing him as her companion and the love of her life.
In that earlier post, she wrote that she would never say goodbye to their love, thanking him for their 42 years together, their family, and a lifetime spent by her side. She asked him to rest in peace and continue watching over her, adding that her love for him would be eternal.
Helicopter crash in Santa Catarina
The helicopter carrying Rick Sollo disappeared on September 21 after taking off from Porto Belo, on the coast of Santa Catarina. The flight had been scheduled to travel inland toward São Joaquim before vanishing from contact.
Search teams discovered the wreckage on Tuesday, September 22, in the rural locality of Santa Bárbara, in the interior of Urubici. Officials found the aircraft completely destroyed in the Serra Catarinense region.
The aircraft was a Bell 430 model, manufactured in 2001 by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter.
Four other people were on board the flight alongside Rick Sollo. The victims were businessman Bruno Avelar, videographer Paulo Soares, pilot Antônio Roberto Nóbrega de Araújo, and co-pilot Leopoldo Barros Teixeira. All five people died in the crash.
Career with Rick e Renner
Rick Sollo was best known across Brazil as a lead singer and songwriter in the sertanejo duo Rick e Renner. Sertanejo is a traditional style of Brazilian country music characterised by paired acoustic guitars and romantic ballads, and it stands as the most commercially successful music genre in Brazil.
Formed in the late twentieth century, Rick e Renner became one of the defining acts of the modern sertanejo movement during the 1990s and 2000s. The duo achieved widespread popularity across Brazil, releasing multiple studio albums and earning widespread airplay on national radio networks.
Serra Catarinense, where the crash occurred, is an upland plateau in Santa Catarina known for steep relief, dense forests, and high altitudes. The town of Urubici sits in one of the highest parts of southern Brazil, where remote terrain often complicates search and rescue operations.
