A shocking video has surfaced on social media after a father and son duo lost their lives in a private plane crash in Brazil on July 29, 2023.
The father, who has been identified as 42-year-old Brazilian rancher Garon Maia, was recording his 11-year-old son piloting their plane while he casually drank a bottle of beer. The video is believed to have been shot shortly before the fatal crash.
According to Brazilian law, a person must be over the age of 18 to fly an airplane. Moreover, the pilot has to be registered with the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC).
“The plane crashed very close to the plowed land, he didn’t have time to land,” a witness told the Daily Mail.
The aircraft in question was a private twin-engine Beechcraft Baron 58, valued at $1.2 million. It crashed in a forest located on the border between the states of Rondônia and Mato Grosso.
On the video, Maia can be heard encouraging his son: “Hand on the lever, hand on the lever. Keep your hand there and look at the speed,” before he takes a sip of beer. “The passenger can have one, right Kiko?”
The pair had taken off from a family farm located in the Rondônia town of Nova Conquista. Before the fatal incident, they made a pit stop at the Vilhena airport to refuel.
Their intended destination was Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, where Maia’s son resided with his mother and attended school.
The estimated flight time to the destination was about 15 minutes, but the twin-engine disappeared from the radars 5 minutes after refueling.
Sadly, the tragedy did not end with the plane crash. Maia’s wife, the son’s stepmother, took her own life a few hours before their burial on August 1, 2023.
Currently, the Representatives of the Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA) are investigating the crash of the private plane and the father’s involvement, Brazilian Air Force (FAB) said in a statement.
