SAO PAULO (AP) — The pilot of the plane that crashed down in Brazil last week was buried Monday in Sao Paulo, becoming the first person laid to rest among the 62 victims, as authorities continue working to determine what exactly caused the accident.
A hearse bearing the casket of Danilo Santos Romano rolled through the streets of Penha, a working class neighborhood of Sao Paulo’s east side, en route to the cemetery that lies beneath his apartment. Family members and friends walked behind the vehicle and dozens of shop owners who knew him as a regular customer gathered on the sidewalks to applaud as it passed. Romano was 35.
Clesio Moura, one of the applauding shopkeepers, said he met the pilot two years ago.
“He had lived abroad, worked for foreign companies, but was always humble,” Moura said. “We used to chat about soccer, he really wanted to have a child to take to the stadium one day. Danilo was full of life.”