The dual-propeller Hawker Beechcraft C90GT carrying Zavascki left a Sao Paulo airport around 1pm local time. It crashed into the sea about 80 minutes later near its destination in the tourist town of Paraty, according to air force and civil aviation authorities.

The plane belonged to luxury hotel group Emiliano, according to civil aviation authority ANAC. No information was provided on the identity of others killed in the crash.

Condolences poured in from federal prosecutors and senior politicians, including some named in the sweeping graft probe - known as Operation Car Wash - that has shaken Brazil's political establishment over the past three years.

Crusading anti-graft Judge Sergio Moro, who has spearheaded the graft investigation at the grassroots level for nearly three years, said in an emailed statement that he "was stunned" by Zavascki's death, whom he called a "Brazilian hero."

"Without him, there would be no Operation Car Wash," Moro wrote. "I hope that his legacy, of serenity, seriousness and firmness in enforcing the law, regardless of the interests of those involved, even the powerful, will not be forgotten."