RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Teori Zavascki, one of the most respected judges in the country who had been overseeing a large part of major corruption investigation, has died in a plane crash, his son said Thursday.

Francisco Prehn Zavascki wrote on his Facebook page that his family had been informed that his father had died in a plane crash outside of Paraty.

“Dear friends, we have just received confirmation that my father has died. Thank you for all the strength,” the son wrote.

A Supreme Court spokesman confirmed that Zavascki was on the plane’s passenger list but didn’t have more information.

Globo news cited firefighters saying three of the four people aboard the plane had died.