A passenger plane crashed near São Paulo, Brazil, at 2 p.m. local time Friday. CNN Brasil reports that there were 62 people on board.
Footage shared on social media showed a plane plummeting out of the clouds, with fire visible on the fuselage and smoke filling the air behind it.
The plane, belonging to the airline Voepass Linhas Aeras, departed from Cascavel, Brazil, and was en route to São Paulo when the signal was lost around 1:30 p.m.
Flight data shows a sudden drop in speed when the plane was at 17,000 feet — from 300 mph to nearly 0 mph in a matter of minutes. Shortly after, the plane crashed in a residential area of the town of Vinhedo, hitting several houses.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said it “appears” as if everyone on board died, CNN reported.
“I want everyone to stand up so we can hold a minute of silence, because a plane has just crashed in the city of Vinhedo, in São Paulo, with 58 passengers and four crew members and it seems that they have all died,” Lula said.
Voepass has not yet confirmed the details of the accident.
URGENT: Airline with capacity on 68 passages of Voepass (antiga Passaredo) in a residential area of Vinhedo (SP). Ele is para o Aeroporto de Guarulhos. More information and videos with commentary. photo.twitter.com/7OznXFim0j
— Nahoum (@siganahoum) August 9, 2024
