Brasília, Brazil—A small private aircraft went down in a remote field late today, killing both people on board. The plane was in the middle of a short-haul flight when it lost altitude and plummeted into the tall grass. It never reached its destination airfield.

Witnesses nearby reported hearing the engine sputter before the aircraft disappeared from the horizon. The descent was rapid and steep. No mayday call was heard over the emergency frequencies, suggesting the incident occurred too quickly for the pilot to signal distress.

Emergency response teams arrived at the scene roughly an hour after the impact. They found the wreckage partially submerged in the vegetation. There were no signs of life inside the crushed cabin. The site was immediately secured to preserve potential evidence for the civil aviation agency.