Sadly, the big travel news story of the week this week came out of Brazil, where a commercial plane carrying 58 passengers and four crew members crashed. The video, embedded below, of the airplane slowly spiraling to the ground, is haunting.
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According to the Associated Press, “the ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop operated by Brazilian airline Voepass was headed for Guarulhos international airport in Sao Paulo with 58 passengers and four crew members aboard when it went down Friday in Vinhedo, 78 kilometers (49 miles) north of the city.”
Above is a screenshot from FlightAware.com that shows the details of the flight including the flight path and speeds.
I don’t like to write about plane crashes or watch documentaries or movies like Castaway that feature crashes because I used to be afraid to fly and this used to be a real fear of mine. Fortunately, after talking to countless pilots and flight crewmembers, I came to appreciate how safe air travel really is. If you, or someone you know, struggles with a fear of flying, these tips might help. However, this particular story is too incredible not to share.
A local news outlet interviewed Adriano Assis from Rio de Janeiro, a passenger at the airport who was supposed to be on the plane but was denied boarding because he was late.
This man wasn’t allowed to board the plane that just crashed in Vinhedo in São Paulo, Brazil because he was LATE.
He argued with the man at the boarding gate, but ended up hugging him after hearing the plane had crashed.
This is unbelievable… 🙏 pic.twitter.com/wrplK3lVr4
— Cillian (@CilComLFC) August 9, 2024
The interview was in Portuguese but the person who shared the interview included captions that were translated … and which might not be perfect. Below is a transcript of the interview:
Adriano: I got here at 9:40, right. The brasserie was closed, but the flight was leaving, by express flight. I was working at the Toledo Regional Hospital. I’m in group 10. When I arrived here, I waited to see if it opened. Normally there’s always someone there at the counter, there was no one. I stayed upstairs, had my coffee and waited.
The microphone didn’t say anything, the boards didn’t say anything about the flight either. When I came down, it was half past ten, there was a huge queue here, I waited and when it got to about 10:41, the guy said I wasn’t going to get on because it was an hour before boarding.
At that point, I argued with him and so on and that was it. And he saved my life, man.
Reporter: I saw that you ended up hugging him …
Adriano: Because he’s done his job. If he hadn’t done his job, maybe I wouldn’t be doing this interview today. Sorry.
Reporter: No. We understand your emotion.
I think we can all understand his emotion and how he has to be one of the luckiest people on the planet. The story reminds me of one of my friends who sent a detailed email about how he was supposed to be at the top of the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 but he fell asleep on the subway and missed his stop. I’ve included a portion of his message below, which he gave me permission to publish in my story about that sad day, as I was in the Big Apple too.
“I was in an elevator at One World Trade Center at 8:45 this morning when the plane hit. I was on my way to a press conference I was supposed to be writing an article for at Windows of the World, which is on the top floor of the World Trade Center, a conference which i was running late for [I was supposed to be covering a speech that began at 8:40; I fell asleep on the subway, a first, and missed my stop and had to double back from the Whitehall station].
“I got in the elevator around 8:42, 8:43 or so. The elevator nearly jumped out of the shaft when the plane hit the building. I thought a bomb had gone off. Then concrete started raining down in slabs. The place filled up with smoke and there were shoes everywhere. Dozens and dozens of shoes that must have been knocked off the early casualties. It was hard to see and people were absolutely stunned. I couldn’t get back through the security turnstiles so looked for another way out of the building but when i looked back at the turnstiles, they had been destroyed somehow, maybe by the falling concrete, so I ran through them and made my way out of the building.
“Outside, there was stuff falling everywhere, including people and dozens of shoes. As i ran from the building, I looked up and saw the second plane hit. Then i kept running. I just ran until my lungs ached. I didn’t stop until i got to Lexington and 23rd. i called my girlfriend and mom and called my office. They were elated to hear from me. None of the others from my office that were covering the conference had called at that point. None have called yet and it’s been 7 hours, almost eight. It was unbelievable and I am so lucky to be alive.”
So is Adriano.
KEEP READING
–How to make sure the TSA Precheck checkmark is on your boarding pass
–Did you know your electronic devices should always be charged when going through security?
–10 airport security hacks every traveler needs to know
–Mom shares hilarious reason she’s not getting TSA Precheck anytime soon
–How to get a full bottle of water through airport security
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