A regional turboprop plane fell into what aviation experts called a flat spin before crashing in a residential neighborhood near Sao Paulo in Brazil on Friday, killing all 61 people on board.
Regional carrier Voepass said the plane, bound for Sao Paulo’s international airport, took off from Cascavel, in the state of Parana, and crashed at around 1:30 p.m. (1630 GMT) in the town of Vinhedo, some 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Sao Paulo.
Video shared on social media showed the ATR-72 aircraft spinning out of control as it plunged down behind a cluster of trees near houses, followed by a large plume of black smoke.
City officials at Valinhos, near Vinhedo, said a home in the local condominium complex had been damaged after the plane crashed into its backyard. None of the residents were hurt.
The plane’s unusual final circling motion before hitting the ground triggered widespread curiosity among aviation experts, leading some to speculate that ice had built up on the plane or it had experienced engine failure, but investigators said it was too early to determine the cause of the crash.
Recall An ATR-72 crashed in 1994 in Indiana, killing 68, after the plane was unable to bank due to ice accretion. Another ATR-72 stalled out in 2016 in Norway after ice built up on the plane, but the pilot was able to regain control of the aircraft.
The head of Brazilian aviation accident investigation center Cenipa said the plane’s so-called “black box” containing voice recordings and flight data had been recovered from the site.
