Two people lost their lives, and at least six others were injured when a small Beechcraft King Air F90 plane crashed into a moving bus in São Paulo’s busy Barra Funda district on Friday, February 7.
The impact caused both the aircraft and the public bus to explode. Debris scattered as thick, dark smoke billowed into the sky.
Firefighters faced challenges in containing the flames and preventing them from spreading. According to the local fire department, the tragic accident occurred around 7:20 a.m. local time when the plane attempted an emergency landing just five minutes after departing from Campo de Marte Airport.
New video shows the moment the small plane crashed west of São Paulo, Brazil, this morning 👀pic.twitter.com/cjKSSlhuNb
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) February 7, 2025
Emergency responders discovered two bodies in the aircraft wreckage. A motorcyclist and a woman on the bus were injured by flying debris, while four others sustained minor injuries. The remaining passengers on the bus were safely evacuated.
Reports indicate that shortly before the crash, the control tower lost communication with the plane.
Governor Tarcísio de Freitas shared on X that the two victims were the pilot, Gustavo Medeiros, and the aircraft’s owner, Márcio Carpena.
The plane was headed to its final destination, Porto Alegre, a city in the southern part of Rio Grande do Sul.
Authorities are still investigating the factors that contributed to the crash.
Witnesses reported that the plane initially struck a tree before crashing onto a busy street, where it collided with a moving bus.
According to Business News Today, an expert suggested that technical issues might have caused the accident, given the pilot’s urgent attempt to make a forced landing. “When an aircraft loses power or suffers mechanical failure shortly after departure, the pilot’s options are limited. Urban environments like São Paulo make emergency landings even more hazardous,” the expert said, as per the publication.
In recent years, Brazil has unfortunately experienced multiple high-profile aviation accidents, sparking concerns about the overall safety of the country’s air travel, including aircraft maintenance, pilot training, and regulatory oversight.
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