Small plane was seen 'flying low and spun' when it hit a power line before fatal crash that killed Brazilian country music singer Marília Mendonça and four other people, witnesses say
- A plane transporting country music singer Marília Mendonça flew low and hit a utility pole and spun before crashing into a waterfall in Brazil on Friday afternoon
- The 26-year-old's uncle and advisor Abicelí Silveira Dias, producer Henrique Ribeiro, and pilots Geraldo Medeiroa Junior and Tarciso Pessoa Viana also died
- Mendonça was flying from her hometown Goiania to Caratinga to perform at a concert on Friday night
- The wrecked plane was removed from the crash site Sunday and is expected to arrive in Rio de Janeiro where aviation officials will investigate the cause
Witnesses who saw the plane crash that killed Brazilian country music singer Marília Mendonça and four others said the aircraft was flying low when it hit a utility pole and spun before it landed in a waterfall in southeastern Brazil on Friday.
The 26-year-old Latin Grammy award-winning artist was on her way to perform at a concert in the Minas Gerais city of Caratinga when the small plane plummeted to the ground.
Mendonça, her uncle uncle and advisor Abicelí Silveira Dias, producer Henrique Ribeiro, pilot Geraldo Medeiroa Junior, 56, and co-pilot Tarciso Pessoa Viana, 37, were all declared dead at the scene.
A worker at the home near the crash site, identified as Dilas Santos told news magazine Fantastico: 'It was a very loud noise, right. I knew there was a plane passing by. As we are used to planes passing by, I just though, wow it's too low. This plane is flying too low. I looked up, then it's already spinning, spinning, spinning, and boom, it fell.'
A caretaker at the same residence told the outlet that he was unloading packages from a vehicle when he heard the loud sound of the plane approaching.
Latin-Grammy award winning country music singer Marília Mendonça was scheduled to perform at a concert on Friday night in the Minas Gerais city of Caratinga. She was 26 years old
The plane that was carrying Brazilian country music singer Marília Mendonça was removed from the crash site Sunday and was set to arrive in Rio de Janeiro on Monday as aviation officials are set to begin an investigation into what caused Friday's accident. The Minas Gerais Energy Company has confirmed that the aircraft his a power line, further validating claims from witnesses who said the plane was flying low before it hit a utility pole and spun several times before it crashed at the waterfall
Share this article
'Then I looked up and saw a plane coming from that hammock over there, from that tower over there. It came spinning and then it angled this way down, spinning like an alligator when it catches a prey.'
The Minas Gerias Energy Company confirmed the plane hit a cable on an electrical pole.
Firefighter Rafael Libardi was the first to enter the twin-engine Beech Aircraft that had taken off from Mendonça's hometown of Goiania in the state of Goias about an hour before the crash.
He tied a part of the plane to a a tree trunk in order to secure it.
'I approached the plane, the plane door was already open,' Libardi. 'I called (on them), tried to talk, tried to seek an answer from someone. Then I realized it was Marília Mendonça.'
Screen grab from a video posted by Brazilian country music singer Marília Mendonça an hour before she and four other people were killed in a plane crash in Minas Gerais, Brazil, on Friday
Marília Mendonça's producer, Henrique Ribeiro, was among the other four victims who died in the crash
Abicelí Silveira Dias, the uncle and advisor of late Brazilian country music singer Marília Mendonça, also died in Friday's plane crash
Co-pilot Tarciso Pessoa Viana leaves behind a pregnant wife and two children
Geraldo Medeiros, a divorced father-of-three, was piloting the plane that crashed in Minas Gerais, Brazil, on Friday, killing him, his co-pilot and three other people, including country music singer Marília Mendonça
Mendonça and Silveira Dias, a married father-of-one, were buried Saturday following a public wake that was held at a gym in Goianua where tens of thousands honored the late singer, whose son, Léo, turns two in December.
Medeiroa Junior, a divorced father-of-three and Pessoa Viana, who left behind a pregnant wife and two children, were laid to rest Sunday.
Mendonça's ex-boyfriend and fellow country music singer Murilo Huff said the former couple spoke moments before she board the fatal flight.
'She sent me a message like this, asking me to take care of him (Léo), to keep an eye on him because he has been vaccinated. It seems like she was saying goodbye,' Huff recalled.
Huff revealed that the pair ended their relationship nearly two months ago after they had returned from a trip.
The late Marília Mendonça with her son Léo, who turns two years old in December
Latin-Grammy award winning country music singer Marília Mendonça was scheduled to perform at a concert on Friday night in the Minas Gerais city of Caratinga. She was 26 years old
'It was like for such a stupid thing, it was for a stupid reason,' he added. 'Today, analyzing everything that happened, if we were together, I would be there too on the plane because I didn't have a concert this weekend and she was returning to the shows in the best phase of her life, super happy with the projects. I would definitely be following her without absolute certainty.'
A rising star performed country music, in Brazil called sertanejo, Mendonça was known for tackling feminist issues in her songs, such as denouncing men who control their partners, and calling for female empowerment.
Ruth Moreira Dias, mother of Brazilian singer, Marília Mendonça, leans over her daughter's coffin at a wake on Saturday
Firefighters search plane transporting late Brazilian country music singer Marília Mendonça
Mendonça posted on her social media networks a video that showed her carrying her guitar and pulling a suitcase as she walked to the plane.
The Latin Recording Academy issued a statement saluting 'a promising young singer/songwriter,' calling her 'the voice of a new generation of sertanejo,' Brazil's country music.
'Marília Mendonça will be sorely missed, but her legacy will live on through her music,' the statement said.
Details about the cause of the accident remained unknown. The plane wreckage was remove from the waterfall on Sunday and was slated to be transferred Monday to Rio de Janeiro where aviation officials are set to begin an investigation.
Comments 0
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
