Pilot accused of s3xual abuse of children arrested in front of shocked passengers moments before take-off

Wednesday, February 11, 2026 - A pilot accused of running a p@edophile ring was handcuffed and led away by police in front of shocked plane passengers just before take-off. 

Sérgio Antônio Lopes, 60, a pilot for LATAM Airlines in Brazil, is being investigated as part of an operation dubbed ‘Fasten your Seatbelt’ over alleged s£xual abuse of children and sharing images. 

Footage released by Sao Paulo police showed Lopes being arrested on Monday, February 9, at Congonhas Airport, in the south of Sao Paulo, just moments before the plane took off. 

A police officer can be heard saying: “You can call for an emergency pilot because he’s been arrested.” 

Lopes was allowed to go into the cockpit to retrieve his belongings and then came out again handcuffs as he was taken away. 

There are also more clips of him being led through the airport by police and to a car. 

It is alleged that Lopes took underage girls to hotels using fake documents and also ran a p@edophile ring which shared images and carried out s£xual abuse. 

An unnamed 55-year-old woman was also arrested. She is accused of soliciting her granddaughters to be abused - with the children aged eight, 10 and 14 when the alleged crimes took place. 

At a press conference, police chief Ivalda Aleixo claimed Lopes “r@ped” children and that his p@edophile ring had been operational for at least eight years. 

“He had contact with some of the victims and he even took them to motels using adult IDs. He started abusing one of them when she was eight-years-old, and now she is 12, and another one of the victims has just turned 18. When he met these children, he would r@pe them,” said Ms Aleixo. 

As well as the two arrests, police are also executing eight search and seizure warrants against four individuals under investigation. The operations are taking place in the city of Sao Paulo and in Guararema, in the metropolitan region. 

The mobile phone belonging to Lopes which was seized by police allegedly showed victims also from other states in Brazil and police are investigating with whom he was sharing this material. 

"In addition to personal use, there is strong evidence that he distributed this content to other people," added Ms Ivalda.