A scenic hot air balloon ride in Brazil ended in disaster when an airborne mishap led to a deadly crash involving dozens of passengers. The incident has prompted a criminal investigation and raised concerns over flight safety regulations.
Juliana Alves Prado Pereira, a 27-year-old psychologist from Pouso Alegre, Minas Gerais, died during a hot air balloon crash on Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Capela do Alto, São Paulo.
She was with her husband, Leandro de Aquino Pereira, celebrating their first Valentine’s Day as a married couple. The couple had recently tied the knot, according to Leandro’s family.
The accident occurred around 8 a.m. in the rural Distrito do Porto neighborhood, near the Vereador Geraldo Portela municipal road.
The balloon had departed earlier from Boituva, a known hub for recreational ballooning in São Paulo state. It was carrying 33 passengers, along with the pilot, Fabio Salvador Pereira, and an assistant.
According to the Military Police, the balloon made two hard impacts with the ground before coming to a full stop. Witnesses reported that during these impacts, four passengers were thrown from the basket.
Eleven others sustained minor injuries and were taken to emergency rooms in Capela do Alto and the Sorocaba Hospital Complex (CHS).
A video shared on Instagram shortly after the incident showed the balloon flying unusually low before the crash.
Pilot Fabio was arrested at the scene. He was charged with aggravated involuntary manslaughter and unauthorized operation of a balloon. Authorities confirmed that his license was valid only for private flights and that his documentation was irregular.
In his testimony, Fabio said he had tried to land the balloon in several open areas as per standard procedures. He claimed a strong and unexpected gust of wind disrupted the descent and that some passengers jumped before the balloon fully touched down.
Gabrielle Rosa do Nascimento, a 27-year-old university student, and her fiancé, Tiago Ribeiro Kempinas, a 37-year-old engineer, were also on board. The couple had traveled seven hours overnight from Marechal Hermes in Rio de Janeiro to Boituva for what was meant to be a surprise engagement.
Gabrielle shared with a local news outlet that the conditions in Boituva were concerning. “Since it was very windy in Boituva, I asked a woman — who I believe was the company’s receptionist — if we were still going to fly. She said yes,” she recounted.
Gabrielle added that they were taken to a site later identified as unlicensed, where two balloons were being prepared for flight.
The woman also described how panic spread among the passengers once the balloon was airborne. She recalled that Juliana was already visibly injured and unresponsive by the time of the second descent attempt.
“Her husband was trying to keep her alive. By that point, the pilot was also injured. We hovered for about 15 more minutes until he spotted a field, where we crashed and were dragged along,” Gabrielle shared.
Once the balloon hit the ground for the second time, many passengers jumped from the basket to escape. Gabrielle and Tiago were among the injured. She added, “What was supposed to be a happy day, an engagement, turned into a nightmare for life.”
Leandro’s family, speaking after the crash, expressed sorrow and raised concerns about the safety of the flight.
They also remembered Juliana as someone kind and loving. “She was a very, very loved person. I can’t believe Ju is gone. I still can’t believe it, honestly. A trip like that took her away,” revealed Maria Ivone Aquino, Leandro’s grandmother.
Jéssica Aquino Pereira, Leandro’s aunt, criticized the decision to allow the balloon to take off. “She really wanted to go on that ride. But seriously, how can they put 33 people inside a balloon in weather like this? The weather was terrible today, very windy — it’s total negligence on the part of the people who put them in there.”
Authorities have launched a full investigation into the cause of the crash. Forensic teams and officials from the Regional Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Service (Seripa) were dispatched to the crash site. As of now, no official determination has been made regarding what exactly led to the incident.
