Plane crash in Mato Grosso kills three on unauthorized flight to Venezuela

A plane crash in a rural area of Água Boa, Mato Grosso, Brazil, has resulted in the deaths of three people, including two Paraguayan citizens and one Brazilian national. The aircraft, identified as a Cessna 402, crashed on September 10 while traveling from Goiânia toward Venezuela.

Authorities are investigating the incident as a potential case of international drug trafficking. Preliminary findings indicate the aircraft was operating clandestinely, as it lacked a Brazilian registration, airworthiness certificate, flight plan, or official authorization to fly within Brazilian territory. Reports suggest the Cessna 402 had previously been seized in a drug trafficking case and subsequently auctioned by the courts.

Investigators used closed-circuit camera footage of the occupants boarding the plane to reconstruct the itinerary and contact the victims' families. The bodies were recovered in a charred state, and definitive identification is pending forensic examinations by the Official Forensic Identification and Technical Service (Politec).