Father of eight-year-old girl killed in plane crash on Portuguese beach speaks out

'I told Sofia, who died, to run behind me, and she ran as fast as she could'

The father of an eight-year-old girl who was killed when a plane crash landed on a beach near Lisbon has spoken of the moments leading up to the tragedy.

The grieving man, who did not give his name, told how he urged his daughter Sofia to run when he saw the light aircraft flying low over the beach.

She died when the plane landed on the sand at the Sao Joao de Caparica beach, 30 kilometres south of the Portuguese capital, along with a 56-year-old man who had been sunbathing.

"I told Sofia, who died, to run behind me, and she ran as fast as she could," the man told a local TV station.

"When I saw the other children were safe and when I looked round to help Sofia, I saw her being hit."

He said he confronted the pilot in the immediate aftermath of the crash who told him he had "lost control" of the Cessna 152 aircraft.

"I could have punched him, I had that right, but I didn't do it," he said.

The man said his priorities now were burying his daughter and ensuring his wife and other daughter were "okay".

"Third, I want to make sure that man never flies again, and my fourth objective is to get these planes banned from flying over beaches," he added.

Eyewitnesses said sunbathers ran towards the sea as the light aircraft made an emergency landing on the packed beach on Wednesday.

The beach is one of the closest to Lisbon and draws big crowds in August, when many Portuguese people take their main summer holiday.

The flight instructor and trainee on board are being questioned by a magistrate, according to local media.

Judicial officials are considering whether to bring charges against the two men, who didn't speak to reporters outside the court near Lisbon.

The pilot reported to a control tower that the plane had suffered engine failure.

The instructor and trainee were led away by police after the incident.