Team Airline Let 410 plane crash

A small LET-410 twin-engine plane belonging to the local Team Airline crashed in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro state (Brazil), killing all 17 passengers and 2 crew members aboard.

The plane left Macae, the base for offshore oil operations in Rio de Janeiro state, for a 40-minute flight to Rio de Janeiro city about 110 miles to the southwest. It had gone down 20 minutes after take-off in a mountainous region between Saquarema and Rio Bonito.

There were no reports of severe weather where the Czech-made plane disappeared. The aircraft, which had a capacity to carry 19 passengers and two crew members, was at least five years old and had recently gone through a two-month routine maintenance. It also had been inspected by the Aviation Authority.

Local media said rural workers in the mountainous region between Macae and Rio de Janeiro heard an explosion after the plane flew very low overhead.