A small aircraft tragically crashed in the Barra Funda neighbourhood of Sao Paulo on Friday morning after takeoff from a nearby private airport, resulting in the deaths of the pilot, Gustavo Medeiros, and the aircraft’s owner, Márcio Carpena. They were the sole occupants on board. The crash occurred just moments after departure, as the plane descended into a busy area, striking a bus and injuring a woman inside, while wreckage also hit a motorcyclist, both of whom are receiving medical treatment.
Witness footage captured the moment of impact, revealing that the plane crashed a short distance beyond an intersection clogged with waiting vehicles. Firefighters promptly responded to extinguish fires ignited by the crash. In total, four additional individuals sustained minor injuries and were treated in local hospitals.
The aircraft was en route to Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul state when it lost altitude less than five kilometres from the airport. Authorities from the Brazilian Air Force are set to investigate the cause of the incident, following a series of deadly small aircraft accidents in Brazil in recent years.