A twin-engine Beech F90 King Air crashed on a bustling street in São Paulo, Brazil, on the morning of Friday, February 7, 2025, resulting in at least two fatalities. The small aircraft, which was heading to Porto Alegre, collided with a bus on Marquês de São Vicente Avenue in the Barra Funda district around 7:20 a.m. local time.
The victims, identified by law enforcement as pilot Gustavo Medeiros and aircraft owner Márcio Carpena, were the only occupants of the plane. Reports suggest that both individuals were incinerated on impact. Six other people were injured by flying debris, including a motorcyclist and a woman inside the bus. All injured parties were rushed to local hospitals, including Santa Casa de Misericordia and Upa Santana Hospital.
Shortly after the plane had taken off from Campo de Marte, a private airport less than three miles from the crash site, the control tower lost contact with it. The cause of the crash is yet to be determined, and the Brazilian Air Force has initiated an investigation.
Witnesses provided accounts of the frantic moments leading up to the crash. They described the plane hitting a tree, grazing a sign, and starting to leak fuel before slamming into a bus and bursting into flames. Engineer João Lucas da Silva Amaral remembered that the aircraft “started dumping kerosene” before exploding on impact.
Another observer, personal trainer Adriano Rolim, noted that the pilot seemed to be attempting a landing on Marquês de São Vicente. Cars nearby swerved in a desperate attempt to evade the plane, but it still hit the rear of a bus, leading to a fiery explosion. The magnitude of the crash left spectators in shock.
Emergency services, including firefighters, military police, civil police, and scientific-technical police, responded swiftly. Fourteen fire department vehicles and 38 firefighters were dispatched to extinguish the flames and aid victims.
Footage from the scene showed the aircraft skidding along the highway, followed by a large explosion and thick, black smoke. A video from CCTV cameras captured the moment of impact as the plane crashed just past an intersection where cars were stopped at a traffic light.
São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas offered his condolences, confirmed the victims’ identities, and assured that the accident was being actively investigated. São Paulo Mayor Ricardo Nunes stated, “We are providing all the support structures to help the victims.”
The accident caused significant traffic disruptions in one of São Paulo’s busiest districts, home to crucial office buildings and public transportation hubs.
Witnesses painted a picture of chaos as people scrambled to escape the burning wreckage. Civil Guard member Alexandre Lima Marques described “a lot of smoke” upon his arrival, with the plane engulfed in flames and passengers fleeing from the bus in terror. Many were clearly shaken, overwhelmed by fear and shock as they tried to comprehend the unfolding disaster.
Brazil has experienced several minor plane crashes in recent years. A particularly tragic accident occurred in August 2024 in Vinhedo, near São Paulo, where 61 lives were lost when a passenger plane entered a flat spin and crashed into a residential area.
Investigators will scrutinize potential factors such as mechanical failure and pilot error to ascertain what led to the fatal incident on Friday. The Brazilian Air Force has promised a swift and thorough investigation.
