Moment plane FALLS from the sky and crashes in Brazil's Sao Paulo

Witnesses reveal how Brazilian plane carrying doctors en route to a seminar narrowly missed crashing into a neighbourhood before it 'fell out of the sky and exploded' to leave 61 dead - as aviation experts determine likely cause of 'death spiral'

Witnesses have described their horror at watching a plane 'fall out of the sky and explode' in Brazil on Friday - as experts scramble to make sense of what happened.

Dramatic video showed the moment a Voepass Airlines plane came spiralling down over populated areas before crashing behind a cluster of trees, near homes.

'I almost believe the pilot tried to avoid a nearby neighbourhood, which is densely populated,' Daniel de Lima, a resident of Vinhedo near the crash site, told Reuters.

All 61 people on board have been reported dead, though relatives are still waiting for confirmation of the fate of their loved ones.

Voepass has since revealed that all those on board - including 57 passengers and four crew - were carrying Brazilian-issued documents.

Some of the passengers were doctors from Parana heading to a seminar, Governor Ratinho Junior told reporters.

'These were people who were used to saving lives, and now they've lost theirs in such tragic circumstances,' he said.