Minas Gerais officials honor three military police officers killed in plane crash

Authorities and families gathered in Belo Horizonte on Sunday to pay their final respects to three military police officers killed in a plane crash on Friday, October 9. The victims, identified as Lieutenant Colonel Luiz Fernando Silvestre, 49, First Lieutenant Gabriela Emília Soares Lacerda Resende, 35, and Lieutenant Alice dos Santos Oliveira Almeida, 34, were honored during a wake at the Military Police Academy.

The accident occurred in Santana do Paraíso, near the Vale do Aço Regional Airport, when a Beechcraft King Air 300 crashed during a proficiency flight. The aircraft had departed from Pampulha Airport in Belo Horizonte earlier that afternoon.

Minas Gerais Governor Mateus Simões attended the ceremony, describing the loss as a significant blow to the state's aviation command. He noted that Lieutenant Resende was the first woman to integrate the aviation command flying fixed-wing aircraft, and praised Lieutenant Colonel Silvestre as one of Brazil's most recognized public safety pilots.