CNN
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A passenger plane with 62 people on board crashed on the outskirts of Sao Paulo on Friday afternoon, according to Brazilian authorities. Dramatic footage from the scene showed the Voepass Linhas Aéreas plane crashing and its fuselage engulfed in flames on the ground.
“There are no survivors,” Ana Candita Brisci, director of communications for the nearby town of Valinhos, told CNN, adding that there were no victims on the ground.
Flight tracking data showed the ATR 72-500, a twin-engine turboprop plane, plummeting 17,000 feet in one minute, but it’s still unclear why. According to a statement from airline Voepass, “It is not yet confirmed how the accident happened or the current condition of the people on board.
Interrupting a speech at an afternoon naval event to address the crash, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for a minute’s silence to mark the apparent deaths of the plane’s passengers and crew.
“I want everyone to stand up and observe a minute of silence because a plane with 58 passengers and 4 crew members crashed in the city of Vinhedo, with 58 passengers and 4 crew members,” he said, in a video of his statement shared on X.
Social media videos of the crash showed the plane spinning out of the sky before crashing into the ground, leaving neighbors screaming in fear. Another video showed the wreckage of the plane burning on the ground.
According to Flightradar24 data, the flight took off from Cascavel in the Brazilian state of Paraná and was en route to Guarulhos in the state of São Paulo.
It started losing altitude about a minute and a half before the crash. The plane, which was flying at an altitude of 17,000 feet till 1:21 pm local time, fell about 250 feet in 10 seconds. It then climbed about 400 feet in eight seconds.
Eight seconds later, it was lost below 2,000 feet. Then, in about a minute, it began its rapid descent—about 17,000 feet in a minute.
The last data transmission from the aircraft was at 1:22pm local time.
São Paulo’s governor, Darcio de Freitas, has announced the creation of a crisis cabinet to deal with the plane crash in Vinhedo, in the interior of the state. The government of Sao Paulo said in a statement that several agencies were assisting with rescue efforts at the crash site.
A resident videotaped the aftermath of a plane crash into her neighbor outside Sao Paulo, telling CNN’s Julia Vargas Jones that she was eating lunch in her kitchen when she saw the plane go down.
She crouched down in fear and began to pray, calling it a “moment of panic” for the entire city. Private roads leading to the property are now closed to everyone, including residents, and first responders are in the area, he said.
According to registration data from the Brazilian Aeronautical Registry, the Voepass Linhas Aéreas aircraft was manufactured in 2010 and purchased by the airline in September 2022.
According to the log, the plane was “denied operations for air taxi.” But at this time it is not clear why or when that decision was made.
ATR, the plane’s manufacturer, says it is aware of the crash and is cooperating with investigators.
“What we can say at this time is that ATR has been informed of an accident involving an ATR 72-500 in Vinhedo, Brazil. Our first thoughts are with all those affected by this incident. ATR experts are fully engaged in supporting both the investigation and the customer,” the statement said.
CNN has reached out to Brazil’s Civil Aviation Authority for more details on that commitment.
Aviation experts who spoke to CNN said the ATR 72s built by the European Union are a thing of the past. ATR72s, as well as the company’s similar, but smaller ATR42 designation, have been involved in several accidents before: at least 15 have occurred. Due to this, passengers lost their lives Includes ATR turboprops registered worldwide.
CNN’s Pam Boykoff contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
