Shocking footage captured the moment a small plane trying to make an emergency landing crashed and exploded on a busy street in São Paulo on Friday, killing the passenger and pilot.
The Beechcraft King Air F909 jet could be seen diving near an intersection on Marquês de São Vicente Avenue just as vehicles had turned off the thoroughfare.
As it struck the ground, it burst into giant fireball before careening down the street and slamming into a bus packaged with passengers.
The charred bodies of the aircraft owner, Márcio Carpena, 46, and the pilot, Gustavo Medeiros, 44, were found inside the plane.
At least seven people, including a bus passenger and motorcyclist, were injured.
Carpena, a lawyer, purchased the jet in December 2024 and immediately flew his family to Uruguay, according to a post on his Instagram.
The father-of-three, who taught law at the Pontifical Catholic University, shared a video on Instagram showing the plane at Campo de Marte Airport on Friday shortly before it departed at 7:15am for Porto Alegre.
In audio message obtained by Brazilian news outlets G1 and Metropoles, a pilot who was waiting to take off could be heard saying that Medeiros requested permission to return to the airport.
Authorities confirmed that the jet owner, Márcio Carpena, 46, and the pilot, Gustavo Medeiros, 44, were killed after the aircraft crashed on a street in São Paulo, Brazil on Friday morning
Beechcraft King Air F909 jet could be seen diving towards the street as the pilot was going to make an emergency landing
The jet left a huge fireball in the back as it careened down Marquês de São Vicente Avenue and avoided vehicles turning at the intersection
‘The guy took off in front of me. I’ve been waiting here for about 15 or 20 minutes. The tower told us to wait,’ the pilot said.
‘He [Medeiros] didn’t declare an emergency, he said, “Tower, I request immediate return.” Then he didn’t say anything else. The tower tried to call him, but nothing. I’m at the waiting point here, but then I saw the smoke. It’s complicated, sad.’
A video filmed by a witness showed the plane flying at a low altitude before suddenly beginning to rapidly descend.
Joao Lucas da Silva Amaral told TV Globo that the plane hit a tree and street sign before the fuel poured out.
Adriano Rolim, a personal trainer, told the network, that he spotted the moment that jet lost altitude.
‘The pilot tried to land on Marques de São Vicente, and fortunately many cars avoided it,’ he said. ‘But the plane hit the back of the bus and ended up exploding. The impact was huge, very scary.’
The Secretary of Public Security of Sao Paulo, Guilherme Derrite, said in a social media post that several teams were responding to the crash.
‘Our teams are working on the crash of a twin-engine plane on Av. Marques de Sao Vicente, in Sao Paulo. The Fire Department controlled the flames,’ he said.
Sao Paulo fire services extinguish flames from plane that killed two.
Witnesses reported hearing an explosion and saw a large cloud of black smoke
A drone view of the site where a small plane crashed into vehicles on Marques de Sao Vicente Avenue in Sao Paulo, Brazil, February 7, 2025
Clouds of black smoke where seen billowing into the sky following the crash
Still image of the plane posted by Márcio Carpena on his Instagram on Friday morning moments before he and the pilot died in a crash shortly after taking off from Campo de Marte Airport in São Paulo, Brazil
‘Teams from the Military Police, Civil Police and Technical-Scientific Police are also supporting the incident.’
The airspace over the area was closed following the crash.
The plane, which was built in 1981, had undergone maintenance for a week last month.
The plane crash was the third fatal air incident to occur in São Paulo in the last 30 days.
On January 9, a small plane skidded off the runway after landing at an airport in the municipality of Ubatuba and exploded on a beach. A couple and their two children survived and the pilot died.
On January 16, a helicopter crashed in Caieiras. The pilot and a 12-year-old girl were rescued, but her parents died.
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