Two pilots have been killed in a plane crash in Brazil after the aircraft smashed into the side of a buildin in the Silveira neighbourhood of Belo Horizonte. Investigations are ongoing
People were heard “screaming for help” after a plane smashed into a building in a densely-populated Brazilian city, killing both pilots on board.
The aircraft had been seen flying in circles above the Silveira neighbourhood of Belo Horizonte, in Brazil’s south-east, before it suddenly came down and crashed into a low-rise residential building. According to Globo, both the pilot and co-pilot were killed. Fire officials said the pilot became trapped in the wreckage, while three other people suffered serious injuries.
Despite the force of the impact, no residents inside the building were hurt. The plane had departed Pampulha Airport at 12.16pm carrying five people. Emergency crews rushed to the crash site just minutes later, arriving at around 12.25pm.
Before the crash the pilot had alerted the control tower at Pampulha Airport that he was experiencing problems during take-off.
Lieutenant Raul, from the Fire Department, explained: “It [the aircraft] hit between the third and fourth floors, in the stairwell. If it had hit the sides, it could have struck some residences; those apartments were occupied. What we saw was the structure of the aircraft projected inside the stairwell, without hitting any other apartments.”
Data from the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) shows the plane was an EMB-721C, a model dating back to 1979. The registered owner is Flavio Loureiro Salgueiro.
Authorities have launched multiple investigations into the crash.
The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) confirmed that specialists from the Centre for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA) are examining what happened.
They are being supported at the scene by teams from the Third Regional Service for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (SERIPA III).
Meanwhile, the Civil Police of Minas Gerais (PCMG) have opened their own inquiry.
Resident Avani Soares, who lives in the impacted building, described the terrifying moment of impact, saying she believed “the world had ended”.
She told Globo: “Everything went dark, a lot of debris fell, and I thought, ‘The world has ended.’
“On the other floor, there were people screaming for help. I didn’t know what to do.”