Small Plane Crashes on Highway After Hitting Electric Pole in Chilling Video

A firefighting plane tackling a roadside blaze crashed onto the highway and erupted into its own ball of flames in Chile on Monday, killing the pilot and injuring several people on the ground.

The incident was caught on camera from several angles because phone users had been filming the aircraft while it went about its work spraying grassland in the city of Talca, south of the capital Santiago.

As the plane flew low alongside Route 5 South, in the central region of Maule, the wing clipped an electricity pylon, causing it to spin out of control as flames streamed from the stricken craft. It plummeted to the highway, killing the pilot and injuring four people who had been traveling in vehicles on the road, according to Chilean broadcaster TVN.

A 13-year megadrought in central Chile is the longest the region has experienced in at least 1,000 years, according to the World Meteorological Organization. In early 2023, wildfires in the country resulted in at least 26 people dead and nearly 1,000 injured, according to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service. Around 660,000 acres of land were affected.

Footage of Monday's accident in Chile went viral across Spanish-speaking social media and was subsequently picked up by English-language accounts, which extended its reach across the internet even further.

A 9-second clip of the footage was shared on X (formerly called Twitter) by an account called "Air Safety #OTD by Francisco Cunha," which posts about aviation disasters. It garnered over 100,000 views and can be seen below.

The video shows how the plane flew low alongside the highway to spray grassland, when part of its wing was sliced off by a pylon, igniting the plane which cartwheels and then smashes into the road.

The clip was captured: "#Ongoing a Firefighting S2R-T660 crashed in Chile. As seen in amateur footage, the plane was flying at low altitude when it hit an electricity pole, damaging the wing and going down on a road. Updates when possible. Source @aero_in."

The pilot was later named by officials as Fernando Solans. He was a 58-year-old professional who had "vast experience in aerial firefighting," according to the TVN report, while the four injured people were described as civilians. A parked truck was also consumed by the fiery crash.

Investigators are currently working to establish what exactly happened.

An eyewitness, who was not named on camera, said watching the horror unfold was surreal because the fiery crash resembled a scene from a disaster movie.

The road was shut down as rescue teams raced to the site, which was situated close to businesses and houses.

The plane was working for the Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF), which is translated as the National Forest Corporation. Newsweek reached out to the agency seeking further information and comment.

The executive director of CONAF, Christián Little Cárdenas, said: "Fires are 99 percent caused by human causes. The fact that we have a fire causes this; that we increase the number of CONAF martyrs." He called on citizens to be responsible to help "prevent these types of events from happening." The fire had been controlled and was being extinguished when the plane tragedy occurred, he added.

"These accidents are very complex," he said. "We must investigate the facts; these are airplanes that may have some technical failure. We are too close to the event to provide any information on the causes of the accident."

A translation of a statement on the agency's website read: "CONAF regrets to report that today, January 15, 2024, at approximately 4:30 p.m., a plane accident occurred in the commune of Talca, during fire control work.

"As a result of this unfortunate event, the death of Mr. Fernando Solans, of Spanish nationality, pilot of the Turbo Trush model aircraft, operated by the airline company Air Andes SPA, which provides services to CONAF, is confirmed.

"CONAF extends its condolences to the family of Mr. Solans, who becomes part of the legacy of martyrs who have given their lives to safeguard the heritage of our country, and thus protect the lives of its inhabitants.

"CONAF is actively working with the authorities investigating the accident, and will provide all the information it has, in order to help clarify the causes and circumstances under which this unfortunate event occurred."

Update 1/16/24 7:01 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a CONAF statement.

Update 1/16/24 12:54 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include comments by Christián Little Cárdenas.