Investigators on Monday were going through the charred debris of a Learjet that crashed in São Paulo at the weekend, killing the pilot and co-pilot and six members of a family in a house it hit.
The twin-engined plane, flying a taxi service from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro, came down on Sunday just after take-off.
Witnesses quoted by Brazilian media said the Learjet 35, which was carrying no passengers, suddenly lost altitude as it veered off to the right from the small Campo de Marte airport.
The newspapers Folha de São Paulo and O Globo said the pilot managed to avoid at least one building before crashing into the house in the suburb of Casa Verde, in São Paulo’s north.
Among the family members killed in the house was a small child. Two members survived: a badly burned 16-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy suffering cuts and bruises.
The daily O Estado de São Paulo said investigators suspect mechanical failure of the engines is to blame, even though the jet’s maintenance was up-to-date.
It was the fourth aviation accident in the city last week. On Thursday, three helicopters crashed in São Paulo’s suburbs, killing three people and injuring seven.
It also came three months after Brazil’s worst aviation disaster: a July 17 Airbus crash at São Paulo’s domestic airport in which 199 people died. — Sapa-AFP