Two people were killed and at least six others injured when a small plane, Beechcraft King Air F90, crashed into a moving bus in the busy Barra Funda district of São Paulo, Brazil, on Friday, February 7.
The crash caused an explosion on impact, with pieces of the plane flying off and thick, dark smoke rising into the air. Local fire services struggled to contain the flames. The incident occurred around 7:20 a.m. local time, shortly after the plane took off from Campo de Marte Airport and attempted an emergency landing five minutes into the flight.
Emergency responders found two bodies in the wreckage of the plane. A motorcyclist and a woman on the bus were injured by flying debris, while four others sustained minor injuries. The rest of the passengers on the bus were evacuated safely.
Reports indicate that the control tower had lost communication with the plane before the crash. Governor Tarcísio de Freitas confirmed on X that the two victims were pilot Gustavo Medeiros and aircraft owner Márcio Carpena.
The plane was en route to Porto Alegre in southern Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state. Investigations into the cause of the crash are ongoing.
Witnesses reported that the plane first struck a tree before crashing onto the busy street and colliding with the bus. According to an expert cited by Business News Today, technical issues could have caused the crash, considering the pilot’s attempt to make an emergency landing.
“When an aircraft loses power or faces mechanical failure shortly after takeoff, the pilot has limited options. Emergency landings in urban areas like São Paulo can be especially dangerous,” the expert explained.
