[Watch] Brazil’s Worst Plane Crash Since 2007, 61 Feared Dead

Vinhedo (Brazil): A plane carrying 61 people crashed in the Brazilian state of São Paulo on Thursday.

According to reports, all people on board are presumed to be dead.

The twin-engine turboprop was flying from Cascavel in Paraná to Guarulhos airport in São Paulo city. But, it came down in Vinhedo town, Voepass airline stated, according to a BBC report.

Moments after the crash a footage of the accident went viral on social media. The footage shows a plane descending vertically and spirals as it falls. There were 57 passengers and four crew members on board the ATR 72-500.

Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, expressed solidarity with the families of the crash victims. Reports stated that São Paulo’s state Governor, Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, declared three days of mourning.

The flight recorders had been retrieved. ATR—the French-Italian plane maker—said it would co-operate with the probe, reported the BBC.
As shown in the video, the plane landed in a residential area. However, authorities claimed that no one on the ground was injured. But, thick smoke was seen emanating from the crashed aircraft.

A residential property in a local condominium complex was damaged, officials claimed.

The last signal received from the aircraft was about an hour and a half later it took off at 11:56 local time (14:56 GMT) from Cascavel, cited the tracking website Flightradar 24.

Brazil’s civil aviation agency claimed that the 2010 plane was ‘in good operating condition, with valid registration and airworthiness certificates.’

The four crew members also had necessary licenses and valid qualifications, it added.
“When I heard the sound of the plane falling, I looked out my window at home and saw the moment it crashed,” Felipe Magalhaes told Reuters.

Another resident, Nathalie Cicari, told CNN Brasil that the sound of the crash was like a drone but ‘much louder.’
“I went out on the balcony and saw the plane spinning. Within seconds, I realised that it was not a normal movement for a plane,” she said.

President Lula paid tribute to the victims at an event. From Valinhos town, 20 emergency personnel were rushed to the crash site.

It is the worst plane crash in Brazil since 2007, when an express plane had crashed at São Paulo’s Congonhas airport, killing 199 people.