Two people were killed when a small aircraft crashed into a residential building in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, just minutes after takeoff. The incident occurred in the Silveira neighborhood, with the plane striking a low-rise apartment block.
Crash Details
The single-engine propeller-driven plane departed from Pampulha Airport at 12:16 PM local time, carrying four people on board. According to the local fire department, the pilot and co-pilot lost their lives in the impact, while the three other passengers sustained serious injuries and remain hospitalized. No one inside the building was hurt.
Video footage captured by a news helicopter shows the plane descending slowly over the city, narrowly missing buildings before disappearing behind an apartment block and then crashing into another low-rise structure. The aircraft left a large hole in the stairwell between the third and fourth floors.
Emergency Response
Emergency services arrived at the scene at 12:25 PM, only nine minutes after takeoff. Lieutenant Raul of the Fire Department stated, "It 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." He added that the aircraft's structure was projected inside the stairwell without hitting any other apartments.
Avani Soares, a resident of the building, recounted her experience: "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." She described a strong smell of fuel and said she grabbed only her cell phone and glasses before fleeing.
Investigation
The pilot had radioed the control tower to report difficulties during takeoff. According to the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), the aircraft is a privately owned EMB-721C model, manufactured in 1979, capable of carrying up to five passengers plus the pilot. The owner is identified as Flavio Loureiro Salgueiro.
Investigators from the Centre for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA) and the Third Regional Service for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (SERIPA III), along with the Civil Police of Minas Gerais (PCMG), are probing the cause of the crash.
