One of Brazil’s most successful current pop starts, Gabriel Diniz, has been killed in a plane crash.
The 28 year old was travelling from Salvador in Bahia state to Maceió further up the east coast to his girlfriend to celebrate her birthday on Monday 27 May, 2019, when his plane crashed, killing him along with his two pilots, Linaldo Xavier and Abraão Farias.
The Piper PA-28 Cherokee was deemed air worthy, but was licensed for flight training and not for air taxi trips such as the one Diniz was making.
Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) is reported to be investigating the crash, and has suspended the Aeroclube de Alagoas which operated the aircraft.
Diniz, grew up in João Pessoa in the north-east of Brazil, and built up his music career while also working as an electrical engineer. He grew a huge following in Brazil, particularly in the wake of his 2018 hit Jenifer – an upbeat pop track about a casual relationship on the dating app Tinder; it has 237m streams on YouTube, and 4.7m people follow the singer on Instagram. Other hits include Acabou Acabou with the singer Wesley Safadão.
