Two killed as private jet overshoots runway in San Fernando

Two people were killed on Wednesday after a private jet crashed into houses near a small airport in the town of San Fernando, Buenos Aires Province.

Local authorities said the aircraft went off the runway, crashed into a house and consequently burst into flames, causing the deaths of the only two individuals onboard: pilot Martín Fernández Loza, 44, and co-pilot Agustín Oforte, 35.

“The aircraft collided with houses that were outside the premises, as a result of which the two pilots died. There was no-one in the houses” at the time, said Julio César Bono, a spokesman for Argentina’s Airport Security Police (PSA).

The plane was flying in from the exclusive resort of Punta del Este, Uruguay, aviation sources told the AFP and Noticias Argentinas news agencies.

Bono said the plane had been in Rio de Janeiro before heading to Buenos Aires. 

A spokesman for Aeropuertos Argentina, which operates the country's main airports, said that the plane failed to stop on landing at the airport, and that the incident occurred at 1.18pm local time.

Personnel from the PSA, SAME emergency services and the Buenos Aires provincial police rushed to San Fernando to tackle the consequences of the air disaster.

The private aircraft reportedly belonged to the family of Jorge Brito, the wealthy owner of Banco Macro and president of River Plate football club.

The causes of the accident were not immediately known. The plane – a Bombardier Challenger 300 LV-GOK – intended to land at San Fernando’s fifth runway but went off track. 

Initial reports, unconfirmed at the time of writing, suggested the brakes had failed to work.

The Challenger 300 LV-GOK is considered one of the most reliable private planes on the market.

The airport’s surrounding area was heavily affected by the fire caused by the accident. The impact also caused damage and fires in adjacent housing, provoking panic among the local residents. A major  operation by firemen was required to control and extinguish the flames.

The accident occurred when the Challenger 300 landed after 1.20pm and its brakes could not be made to work. The aircraft subsequently went the runway and crashed, causing a large explosion at the intersection of José Terry and Charlín streets next to San Fernando Airport.

According to the official report issued by the Airport Police, the plane ended up crashing into some houses, whose residents managed to be evacuated. No fatal victims other than the pilots have been reported until now.

A neighbour of the zone told journalists that she heard the explosion and had to abandon her house in a hurry, after which ambulances, police cars and firefighters started arriving.

“I came out just when I heard explosions, like three loud explosions,” local resident David Scuarek told AFP. “People were already running in the street and there was a lot of fire.”

– TIMES/AFP/NA