The man and young girl were killed after being struck by the plane, on the legs and head respectively, as the stricken plane landed on the beach.
A woman also sustained serious injuries to her shoulder.
The two pilots, a teacher and a pupil, emerged from the incident unscathed and appeared in court on Thursday for a preliminary interrogation.
Portugal’s air accident investigation bureau, the GPIAFF, was immediately dispatched to the scene to gather evidence and an investigation into the incident has been launched.
Its initial findings will be made public within days.
In a statement the GPIAFF clarified that, “[Wednesday] evening, some media reported that, with regards to this accident, the GPIAAF allegedly issued information on possible best practices to be adopted by pilots in this type of situation.
“Obviously, such information was false and immediately the GPIAAF sent a request to restore the truth to the media in question.”
The GPIAAF said that, beyond confirming an investigation, “the Bureau will never issue any opinions or information that may lead to inferring the adequacy of the actions taken by the parties involved in the accidents or incidents, other than those that appear in the published safety investigation reports, where the statements are duly substantiated and warranted.”
The bureau’s statement came after some media outlets claimed text books state aircraft should ditch in the sea when performing emergency landings near coastal areas, particularly if the beaches are busy, and that the GPIAAF had made comments to this end.
Both the pilot and the student have been made formal defendants in the case, and will have to justify their decision to make an emergency landing on the beach to judges in the courtroom.