A small single-engine plane, taking off from Pampulha airport at Belo Horizontein Brazil, crashed 9 minutes after takeoff into a residential building in the Silveira neighborhood. The accident, which occurred on May 4th at 12.25pm local timecost the lives of 3 of the 5 people on board: the pilot Wellington Oliveira (34 years old), the co-pilot Fernando Souto Moreira (36 years old) and the entrepreneur Leonardo Berganholi (50 years old). It seems that the aircraft, a Embraer EMB-721C bound for Sao Paulo, had a malfunction immediately after take-off. Fortunately there were no victims among the residents of the building, because the plane was projected into the stairwell of the building, without hitting the apartments.
According to Brazilian media reconstructions, the pilot he reportedly reported a mechanical failure to the control tower immediately after takeoff. The cause of the failure is currently unknown. Brazilian authorities have launched an investigation to analyze the aircraft’s black box and its maintenance documentation. The aircraft involved was an Embraer EMB-721C “Sertanejo” built in 1979. It is a commercial single-engine aircraft equipped with one engine Lycoming from 300 horsepower. It can carry up to 7 people including the pilot, and has a maximum speed of 290 km/h.
The fault could have occurred during taxiing, during the take-off roll or in the first seconds of flight. In any case, the plane could not find a safe space to make an emergency landing because Pampulha airport is located within the urban perimetermoreover in a city with a high population density like Belo Horizonte.
According to data from CENIPA, the Brazilian aeronautical accident investigation and prevention centre, in 2025 there were 153 accidents planes that cost the lives of 62 victims.
