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Plane Bursts Into Flames Mid-Air as Pilot Deploys Emergency Parachute

The pilot was taken to a hospital in the Brazilian state’s capital and is suspected to be suffering from smoke inhalation.

A 29-year-old pilot miraculously survived a flight gone terribly wrong. The plane took off from Pampulha Airport in Greater Belo Horizonte, Brazil, on Tuesday morning around 7:30 a.m. and erupted into flames just 15 minutes later. Video shows smoke trailing from the plane as it heads toward the ground. The pilot made the lifesaving move to deploy the plane’s emergency parachute to slow its descent and prevent it from plummeting to the ground. The 29-year-old was taken to Hospital João XXIII in Belo Horizonte and is suspected of suffering from smoke inhalation. Motiva, the operator of Pampulha Airport, said: “During the operation, there was no communication between the pilot and the Pampulha Airport Control Tower reporting any emergency, malfunction, or other incident.” The Brazilian Aeronautical Registry said the plane appeared to be in good condition before the crash and had a valid airworthiness certificate. The plane, a Cirrus SR22, has a rare safety feature—it is equipped with a parachute—that allows the light aircraft to float to the ground in an emergency. According to the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association, the feature has saved 302 people in Cirrus aircraft.