A plane with 57 passengers and four crew members crashed in São Paulo state, Brazil, on Friday, resulting in the deaths of all those on board.
When the Voepass airline-operated ATR 72-500 crashed in Vinhedo, it was en route from Cascavel in southern Parana state to Guarulhos international airport in Sao Paulo.
Voepass later changed the number of passengers on board from 58 to 57 in a statement posted on the airline’s website.
A huge column of smoke was seen rising from the crash site in what appeared to be a residential area, and images carried by local media showed a large plane spinning as it fell almost vertically.
“There were no survivors,” the city government in Valinhos — which was involved in the rescue and recovery operation in nearby Vinhedo — said in an to AFP.
Around 76,000 people live in Vinhedo, which is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Sao Paulo.
Governor of Sao Paulo State Tarcisio de Freitas told reporters at the scene that work to recover the victims’ remains for “identification” had started and “will continue throughout the night.”
A three-day period of mourning was declared by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Voepass stated that it was providing the families of the victims of flight 2283 with complete support while working with authorities to “determine the causes of the accident.”
According to the company, the twin-engine turboprop aircraft took off “without any flight restrictions, with all its systems operational.”
The aviation accident agency CENIPA in Brazil has opened an investigation.
ATR, an Airbus subsidiary and manufacturer of French-Italian aircraft, stated that its specialists were assisting the authorities.
Truck driver Martins Barbosa, 49, was working when he learned of the plane crash, which occurred 150 meters (500 feet) from his home.
“I thought it might have fallen on my house, with my son inside,” he told AFP, adding he felt despondent before learning his family was okay.
Nathalie Cicari, who lives near the crash site, told CNN Brasil the impact was “terrifying.”
“I was having lunch, I heard a very loud noise very close by,” she said, describing the sound as drone-like but “much louder.”
“I went out on the balcony and saw the plane spinning. Within seconds, I realized that it was not a normal movement for a plane.”
Cicari was not hurt but had to evacuate her house, which was filled with black smoke from the crash.
“I arrived at the scene and saw many bodies on the ground — many of them,” another witness, Ricardo Rodrigues, told local Band News.
At the scene were state civil defense, military police, and firefighters.
According to military police, the crash did not result in any casualties on the ground, and the fire it caused was contained. This information was provided to local media.
Reporters were informed at the scene by state security official Guilherme Derrite of Sao Paulo that the plane’s black box “has already been found, apparently preserved.”
The website planespotters.net states that the doomed aircraft made its first flight recording in April of 2010.
In recent decades, there has been a significant improvement in air safety, with fatal passenger plane crashes becoming increasingly rare globally, albeit more common in developing countries.
With Friday’s crash excluded, Brazil has had 108 aircraft accidents this year, accounting for 49 fatalities, according to CENIPA data. In the previous ten years,
In January 2023, another ATR 72 operated by Yeti Airlines crashed after stalling in Nepal, killing all 72 on board.
The incident was attributed to pilot error by the Nepalese authorities.
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