Man in 50s and eight-year-old girl killed on São João beach when they were hit by plane carrying student and instructor from local flying school

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A flight instructor and the trainee pilot of a small plane that crash landed on a crowded beach near Lisbon, killing a 56-year-old man and an eight-year-old girl, have appeared in court.

The two men refused to speak to reporters as they arrived at the building in Almada, across the Tagus river from the Portuguese capital, to be questioned by a prosecutor behind closed doors.

The pilot and instructor could be charged following the interview. Legal experts have speculated on a possible charge of negligent homicide, which carries a prison sentence of up to 16 years.

The instructor and pilot were unhurt and were led away from the Cessna CS-AVA plane by police for questioning after the incident on on São João beach, south-west of Lisbon, on Wednesday. They were not arrested.

According to a recording broadcast on Portuguese television, the instructor could be heard telling a control tower that the plane had suffered engine failure and was going to make an emergency landing.

The instructor had “a high level of experience and thousands of hours of flying”, the Aerocondor aviation school said in a statement.

A man who identified himself as the father of the eight-year-old girl interrupted a live TV report on the crash to accuse the pilot of putting his own safety before the lives of the victims, Portuguese media reported.

The man, who did not give his name, said he told his daughter to run behind him, but though “she ran as fast as she could”, he saw her being hit by the aircraft.

“My opinion is that that the man wanted to land the plane without any concern for others,” he said. “He’s suffering, I’m sure, but his main worry was landing safely.”

Another beach-goer, Filipe Janeira, 34, told daily Jornal de Noticias: “The plane first hit the man, who had his back to it. Immediately after it lifted up and when it descended again it hit the child’s head.”

Bystanders stepped in to stop angry crowds attacking the pilot and the instructor after the incident.



“I got involved to prevent another tragedy from happening,” said Nicolas dos Santos, a professional basketballer who plays for Benfica. “I wanted to help. Assaulting the pilot wasn’t the solution, it was to keep calm and wait for the authorities.”

The chief of Lisbon’s port police, Paulo Isabel, said: “Any loss of life is to be regretted but given the fact this plane came down on a beach with hundreds of people on it at the height of summer, we could have been looking at many deaths and many injuries.”

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report