São Paulo Plane Crash Update – Twin-engine aircraft crashes near Barra Funda, leaving fatalities and injuries. In São Paulo, Brazil, during the wee morning hours of friday morning, a small, twin-engined, off-loaded, single-engine King Air aircraft sustained a fatal crashed landing on a busy street of the Barra Funda district, striking a public bus. The incident resulted in the deaths of two individuals and left six others injured. Authorities probe deadly São Paulo plane crash that left a trail of destruction.
Crash Details and Timeline
The crash occurred at approximately 7: 20 a.m. local time (5:20 a.m. ET) at Marquês de São Vicente, a major street in the city of São Paulo, with a strong traffic load and the presence of transport at ground level. According to reports from CNN Brasil, the aircraft had taken off from Campo de Marte Airport and was en route to Porto Alegre, a city in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. But minutes after takeoff, the airport’s control tower ceased communication with the aircraft, and tragically it crashed three miles (five km) from the airport minutes later.
Dramatic video taken from the street showed the time the aircraft slammed into the roadway, shaving close to a series of morning commuters before sliding along the highway. A black smoke plume thick with smoke billowed above the scene as the pieces caught fire and teeth and screaming the onlookers are drenched in fear.
Casualties and Injuries
View this post on Instagram
The two individuals on board the aircraft were burned to death, according to São Paulo’s military police. It has not yet been confirmed whether any of the persons who died were the pilot and copilot or the passengers.
- A motorcyclist received a blast from an explosion caused by the burning debris.
- A female passenger on the bus (who also sustained injuries from flying debris at the time/location of impact).
Emergency personnel moved critically ill subjects to nearby hospitals, Santa Casa de Misericórdia Hospital and UPA Santana Hospital, for emergency medical treatment.
Eyewitness Accounts and Rescue Operations
Alexandre Lima Marques, a Civil Guard, told the reader of the confusion that occurred as rescue crews arrived.
“As we approached, we saw a lot of smoke. The plane was on fire and there it was, screaming humanity jumping off the engine bus. They were petrified and completely stunned”, Marques disclosed to CNN Brasil.
38 fire fighters and 14 fire department vehicles were deployed to the crash site. Firefighters, emergency medical staff and traffic control personnel coordinated to put out the blaze, shelter victims, and remove the debris from the pavement.
Investigation Underway
Authorities have begun an official inquiry to determine the cause of the accident. Investigators are also looking into the reason why in this case the aircraft communication is lost with the control tower and if technical failure, improper flying by the pilot or external factors have contributed to the accident.
Following the trauma, the area was sealed and aviation investigators began to analyze flight data recorders and aircraft wreckage in an attempt to gain further insight into the last few seconds before impact.
City Officials Respond
The local mayor of São Paulo, Ricardo Nunes, expressed his condolences to the victims and stated that in that city all necessary assistance is being provided to the wounded and their relatives.
“We deeply regret this tragic accident. [The former Division chief of Integrative Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, a physician who holds degrees in biology and virology, and an Assistant Professor of Kidney and Urology) Our emergency response teams are doing everything they can to assist those in distress,” Nunes posted [on X (formerly Twitter).
Highway Disruptions and Traffic Impact
The accident generated significant traffic volume in Marquês de São Vicente, a main avenue of São Paulo city, which intersects important commercial and residential nuclei. The avenue is also used by many commuters who take it as a shortcut to not be stuck on the Marginal Tietê, the close expressway, which is grossly overloaded during peak hour.
Traffic officials were quick to remove the debris and restore traffic flow, however, there were road closures and detours in place during the morning.
Conclusion
The São Paulo air crash has made the city grieve and the unanswered questions remain about whether it would crash and why it crashed. Despite researchers’ efforts to unravel the events, the accident is an excruciating reminder at how unpredictable air accidents are and how important are the severe safety flight regulations.
Traffic control authorities continue monitoring the status of the injured persons as well as assisting the families of the deceased victims of this fatal incident.
