The water-dropping plane was among the teams trying to hold back fires that have killed more than 60 people in central Portugal.
"I myself thought that a Canadair had fallen", Prime Minister António Costa said of the confusion, as cited by Publico.
Meanwhile, there have been conflicting reports about whether a water-dropping plane involved in the operation to tackle devastating fires had crashed. An Instituto Nacional de Emergência Médica (INEM) helicopter was dispatched to the scene, TVI reports, as cited by Publico.
The advancing flames prompted authorities overnight to evacuate the rural village of Cadafez, home to some 200 inhabitants, as a precautionary measure. More than 1000 firefighters on the ground and aircraft from several countries are battling the blazes. Witnesses reported an explosion soon after a plane flew over but it is thought that may have been gas supplies igniting.
At least 64 persons have been killed and over 150 have been injured since the blaze erupted in Pedrógão Grande on Saturday, with many victims succumbing to the rapidly spreading flames as they attempted to escape in their cars.
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Civil protection officials say they expect the blazes to be under control soon, but warn that soaring temperatures are hampering efforts. Commander Vitor Vaz Pinto told reporters said the Gois wildfire was "very fast and very explosive" and had forced the evacuation of 11 hill villages.
A firefighter walks close to a wildfire in Carvalho, near Pampilhosa da Serra.
Costa's order asked three questions: whether extreme weather could explain the scale of the disaster, why emergency services communications at times didn't work, and why the road where the deaths occurred was not closed.
Questions swirled over how so many people could have died in the forest fire, most of whom perished on a single road that locals say should have been sealed off by first responders.
Data from the European Forest Fire Information System showed that an area of more than 30,000 hectares had burned in the past seven days, making it the largest ever fire in Portugal.
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