Adriano Assis, a Brazilian who arrived late for boarding, missed the flight that met a tragic end.
Adriano was to board the Voepass 2283 flight that crashed in Sao Paulo, killing all passengers and crew on board.
In an interview with local news outlet TV Globo in Brazil, Adriano said he was stopped from boarding the flight because he was late.
An excerpt from the interview was shared on X with the caption, “This man wasn’t allowed to board the plane that just crashed in Vinhedo, Sao Paulo, Brazil, because he was late.” He argued with the man at the boarding gate but ended up hugging him after hearing the plane had crashed. This is unbelievable.”
Adriano said the airline employee who stopped him from boarding the flight saved his life. He said a confusion over his flight details got him late for boarding. When the staff refused to let him on the flight, he “argued with him and so on, and that was it. And he saved my life.”
According to the flight manifest, the aircraft was intended to carry 58 passengers. The 58th passenger to never make it onboard was Adriano Assis. He added that, after finding out about the accident, he searched for the airline employee and hugged him.
“I hugged him because he’s done his job. If he hadn’t done his job, maybe I wouldn’t have been interviewed today. I spoke out of anger, but this chap, I don’t even know his name, he really saved my life,” he said.
Several videos of the Voepass ATR 72 turboprop spinning out of control and slamming into a gated community in Vinhedo, some 80 kilometres northwest of Sao Paulo, went viral on social media yesterday.
All those who were on board 57 passengers and four crew members died. No deaths were reported on the ground, according to authorities.
