An investigation is under way after a plane carrying 62 people plummeted into a gated community in the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil, killing all of those on board.
Officials have said only one home was damaged after the Voepass plane crashed in the municipality of Vinhedono and no residents were hurt.
On Friday, Voepass said the plane was carrying 57 passengers and four crew, but on Saturday the firm confirmed another unaccounted-for passenger was on the flight, putting the number of casualties at 62.
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Investigations into Brazil plane crash under way
Brazil’s federal police said it had begun its investigation, and had dispatched specialists in plane crashes and the identification of disaster victims.
Footage broadcast by Brazilian TV station GloboNews showed a large area on fire and smoke appearing to billow from a fuselage.
Video shared on social media showed the plane spinning out of control before crashing behind a cluster of trees close to houses.
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Emergency services close to the scene of the crash. Pic: AP
Authorities sealed off the gated community where the crash took place as firefighters and the military police dispatched teams.
Voepass has not given any indication as to what may have caused the crash.
A Sao Paulo state official confirmed the plane’s black box flight recorder has been found.
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Police vehicles used to carry bodies arrive at the gated community where the plane crashed. Pic: AP
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A helicopter flies close the scene of the crash. Pic: AP
The flight tracker website FlightRadar24 has said there was an active warning for “severe icing” at an altitude of between 12,000 feet and 21,000 feet, and that the aircraft had been flying at 17,000 feet immediately prior to the crash.
Icing involves water droplets freezing and collecting on surfaces such as wings and propeller blades. It can hamper an aircraft’s performance by reducing thrust, decreasing lift and increasing drag.
Marcelo Moura, director of operations for Voepass, told reporters while there were forecasts for ice, they were within acceptable levels for the aircraft.
Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Henrique Baldi, of the Brazilian air force’s centre for the investigation and prevention of air accidents, said it was still too early to say whether ice caused the accident.
The plane is “certified in several countries to fly in severe icing conditions, including in countries unlike ours, where the impact of ice is more significant,” Baldi said.
Aircraft manufacturer ATR said it had been informed of an accident in Vinhedo involving one of its aircraft.
“Our first thoughts are with all the indiuals affected by this event,” it said, adding that company specialists were “fully engaged” with the investigation into the crash and its customers.
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Rescue workers are deployed after a Voepass passenger plane crashed with 62 people on board. Pic: Allison Sales/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
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Smoke billowed from the scene after the crash
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Police guard the gated community in Vinhedo where the plane crashed. Pic: AP
The aircraft was listed by flight tracker website FlightRadar24 as a 14-year-old ATR 72-500 turboprop.
The website noted that in its final minute, the plane’s transponder recorded a vertical speed of between 8,000 and 24,000 feet per minute.
The upper end of that range would translate to a speed of 273 miles per hour.
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A refrigerated truck from the fire department arrives at the gated community where the crash took place. Pic: AP
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Security forces close the road to the accident site. Pic: AP
A woman, who gave her name only as Ana Lucia, witnessed the crash and said: “I thought it was going to fall in our yard.
“It was scary, but thank God there were no victims among the locals. It seems that the 62 people inside the plane were the real victims, though.”
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been speaking at an event in the south of the country where he said it appeared that all passengers and crew had died.
He later asked the crowd to stand and observe a minute of silence.
