A single-engine Piper JetPROP DLX aircraft crashed into a closed restaurant in Capão da Canoa, a coastal municipality in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state, killing all four people on board Friday morning.
The plane, registered as PS-RBK, had departed from the local aeroclub around 10:40 a.m. bound for Ibitinga in São Paulo. It carried pilot Nelio Pessanha, copilot Renan Saes of Peluzzi Aviation, and business couple Deborah Belanda Ortolani and Luis Antonio Ortolani, who were heading to the Ibitinga Embroidery Fair, a major textile event they helped organize. The aircraft had earlier stopped in Criciúma, Santa Catarina, for fuel after originating from São Paulo.
Security camera footage shows the plane flying low over a residential area with an unstable trajectory before plummeting into the Dom Inácio restaurant on Avenida Valdomiro Cândido dos Reis. It struck a utility pole at the runway’s end, severed power lines causing a blackout, and ignited a fire that damaged nearby homes. Firefighters quickly contained the blaze, and no ground casualties occurred as the restaurant was empty and residents were evacuated.
Brazil’s Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aviation Accidents (CENIPA) has begun probing possible causes, including low-altitude flight, loss of lift, obstacle collision, and operational factors at the small aerodrome amid urban growth. The incident highlights ongoing risks in Brazil’s general aviation sector, where small fields near populated areas have seen similar crashes.