Plane crash kills nearly 200 in Sao Paulo

An Airbus carrying more than 170 people crashed after skidding off a runway at the Congonhas Airport Tuesday evening. It's believed all passengers and more than 20 people who were on the ground were killed in the accident. TAM airline flight 3054 had left Porto Alegre and was landing in Sao Paulo when it skidded off the runway and hit a cargo hangar situated next to it. According to witnesses, it immediately exploded, engulfing the hangar in flames.

Situated in downtown Sao Paulo, the Congonhas runway has often been criticized for being too short and slippery under rainy conditions. It was recently renovated, but critics say the new tarmac had not yet been totally prepared to get rid of excess water quickly enough. On Monday, a smaller plane had already skidded off a runway, stopping in the ditch dividing the two main runways in the airport. It's the second large airplane accident in Brazil in the last ten months. In September, a Gol Airlines Boeing crashed on a smaller plane above the Amazon. All 154 people aboard the Boeing died, while the smaller plane was able to land safely shortly after the mid-air collision.