The plane slammed into a TAM airlines building after narrowly clearing the airport's perimeter fence and rush-hour traffic on a surrounding highway.

NPR: Brazilian Prosecutors Seek to Close Airport After Crash

In 1996, a TAM airlines Fokker-100 crashed shortly after taking off from the same airport, killing all 96 people on board and three on the ground.

NPR: Nearly 200 Feared Dead in Brazil Air Crash

The TAM airlines Airbus A320 flight that originated in Porto Alegre in southern Brazil on Tuesday cleared the airport fence at the end of the runway and the busy highway but slammed into a gas station and a TAM building, causing an inferno.

NPR: Nearly 200 Feared Dead in Brazil Air Crash