A pilot survived after a Cirrus SR22 caught fire in flight over Minas Gerais, Brazil, and descended under its whole-aircraft parachute system before being destroyed on the ground near Serra Azul in the Mateus Leme region. The privately operated aircraft, registered PR-VMI, had departed Belo Horizonte’s Pampulha Airport for Bom Despacho with only the 29-year-old pilot aboard.
Firefighters described an in-flight engine failure with an explosion and fire, while video from the scene showed the aircraft trailing thick smoke as it came down under the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System. Bystanders helped the pilot escape after the wreckage reached a wooded area and was engulfed by flames.
The pilot suffered minor injuries and smoke inhalation. He was taken first for emergency treatment in the region, then transferred by helicopter to João XXIII Hospital in Belo Horizonte for further evaluation before being released later the same day.
Brazil’s CENIPA and Seripa III were dispatched to begin the initial investigation into the fire and emergency sequence. The exact trigger remains unclear, including whether the blaze began before or after parachute deployment, and the final technical cause has not yet been established.