Plane bursts into flames in mid-air and crashes as emergency parachute deployed

Plane bursts into flames in mid-air and crashes as emergency parachute deployed The 29-year-old pilot activated his plane's whole aircraft parachute system after suffering a mid-air emergency before the aircraft burst into flames and hit the ground This is the horrifying moment a plane burst into flames in mid-air before crashing. Video shows the light aircraft trailing a plume of smoke as it heads towards the ground after the pilot desperately activated an aircraft parachute. The pilot deployed the parachute from the single-engine plane to avoid plummeting to the ground at high speed. Smoke could be seen trailing behind the aircraft as it spiralled in Greater Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The 29-year-old pilot miraculously survived the terrifying ordeal after he was pulled from the wreckage by bystanders, the fire service said. He was taken to the emergency care unit of a hospital in Mateus Leme before being transferred to Hospital João XXIII in Belo Horizonte, the state’s capital. He is said to be suffering from suspected smoke inhalation. The plane took off from the Pampulha Airport at around 7:34am on Tuesday morning but got into trouble shortly afterwards at around 7:49am. 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 confirmed the plane had appeared to be in good condition prior to the crash, with a valid Airworthiness Verification Certificate until September 26, 2026. The plane, a Cirrus SR22, has an unusual safety feature - the pilot can deploy a parachute that allows the whole aircraft to float to the ground in the event of an emergency. The news comes after a similar aircraft crashed in the UK earlier this year. The Cirrus SR20, which also features a similar whole aircraft parachute system, crashed near Rochdale in February. Two men died in the crash as pictures captured the aircraft’s large parachute caught on electricity pylons on farmland near Littleborough, a town by the foothills of the South Pennines. Flight data showed the single-engine aircraft, which can carry five people, taking off from Birmingham Airport at around 10am on February 3 before it started to lose altitude shortly into the flight. The whole aircraft parachute system, dubbed the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS), has saved 302 people in Cirrus aircraft, according to the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association. The Mirror has approached Motiva for a comment.