MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Two killed as small airplane crashes into São Paulo streets

The Beechcraft F-90's two occupants died in the crash

Two people were reported dead and six others injured after a light private aircraft crashed into a bus on Avenida Marquês de São Vicente, in the West Zone of São Paulo, around 7.20 am Friday. First responders were summoned to the spot and Brazil's Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Centre (Cenipa) was entrusted with the investigation into the causes of the accident.

Fire Brigade Captain Ronaldo de Melo told local media that the bodies of the fatal victims were found inside the aircraft, completely charred. “One was located in the front, probably the pilot. And the second victim was found in the back of the aircraft.” They were the twin-engined airplane's two only occupants, who were identified as Márcio Carpena, owner of the aircraft, and pilot Gustavo Medeiros.

Cenipa experts were now “gathering information, taking photos and interviewing people who witnessed the crash,” he also explained.

Of the six people injured, five were on the bus, which they exited on their own with non-life-threatening bruises. The sixth victim was a motorcycle rider who fell when he was startled by noise caused by the impact. They all received medical attention.

São Paulo Governor Tarcisio Gomes de Freitas said on X that the rapid response of the firefighters, who smothered the flames “in a few minutes”, prevented “the tragedy from being even greater.”

The eight-seat King Air F90 had taken off from Campo de Marte Airport in north São Paulo and was bound for Porto Alegre.

In 2024, Brazil recorded 175 airplane accidents, 44 of them with fatalities. In August, 62 people were killed with an ATR turboprop passenger airliner crashed in a residential area of the city of Vinhedo, in the state of Sao Paulo. In January alone there were 20 accidents, resulting in eight deaths. Most incidents involved agricultural aircraft and private planes.