The terrifying moment a private jet carrying an influencer crashed and killed both people on board has been revealed.
On Friday morning, the small plane crashed in Avenida Marques de São Vicente, a major road in the Barra Funda neighborhood of São Paulo, Brazil, according to reports.
Both people on board – the pilot and passenger – were declared dead, and seven others were injured.
The deceased were named as Márcio Louzada Carpena, 49, an influencer and father of three, as well as pilot Gustavo Carneiro Medeiros, 44.
The aircraft had been on its way to Porto Alegre when it hit the rear of a public bus, causing it to burst into flames.
Five passengers on the bus and a motorcyclist were among those who suffered minor injuries in the incident.
Carpena, who was known as a Brazilian layer and motivational speaker, and who’d amassed over 50,000 followers with his posts about his family’s glamorous life, had reportedly bought the eight-seater jet in December, according to RBS TV.
Security footage captured the tragic moment that the plane crashed into the ground, sparking a fireball with a large plume of smoke.
The wreckage of the King Air F90 plane was seen smoldering as people were carried away on stretchers by paramedics.
After the tragic incident, Carpena’s partner, Francieli Rozales, paid tribute to him on Instagram.
She wrote on her story, as reported by Metro: “What a horrible pain to lose you. Life is so unfair. Such an intense man, full of desire to live, with big projects and dreams.
“Oh, my love, how I wish it was just a nightmare, to wake up, turn to the side and hug you.”
According to Brazilian outlet UOL, Carpena’s “best friend”, lawyer Felipe Russowsky claimed that he’d spoken to the late influencer moments before the plane took off from Campo de Marte Airport, just 7km from the crash site.
He claimed to have spoken with Carpena at 7.11AM, with reports stating that the plane lost contact with the control tower at 7.20AM.
Russowsky told the outlet: “He was an experienced pilot, very cautious. Márcio was one of the most brilliant people I knew.”
As well as his successful social media career, Carpena also worked as a professor of law at the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, and ran his own law firm, as well as traveling around the country lecturing on human behavior.
Medeiros was also an experienced pilot and had racked up almost 5,000 flight hours on passenger and transport aircraft.
An investigation into the deadly incident has been launched by the Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (Cenipa).
Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by this tragedy.
