Brazil

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Rio de Janeiro - Rio de Janeiro

MSN:

134

YOM:

1944

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew departed Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont for a local training flight. En route, the pilot voluntarily shut down the left engine to simulate a failure. As the crew elected to feather its propeller, the prop went into reverse. The crew decided to return to Santos Dumont Airport but as he was unable to maintain a safe altitude, he decided to ditch the aircraft 50 meters off the Itaipu beach. Both occupants were rescued while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-20-DK in Rio de Janeiro: 3 killed

Date & Time: Dec 6, 1961 at 1408 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

2067

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

MSN:

15624/27069

YOM:

1945

Location:

Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont

Rio de Janeiro

Country:

Brazil

Region:

South America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Shortly after takeoff from Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont Airport, while climbing to a height of 30 meters, the aircraft stalled and crashed into the Guanabara Bay, about 800 meters from the runway end. The aircraft was lost and all three crew members were killed.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.106 Comet 4C in Campinas: 52 killed

Date & Time: Nov 23, 1961 at 0540 LT

Type of aircraft:

De Havilland DH.106 Comet

Operator:

Registration:

LV-AHR

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Buenos Aires – Campinas – Port of Spain – New York

MSN:

6430

YOM:

1960

Flight number:

AR322

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

12550

Captain / Total hours on type:

1612.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

13427

Copilot / Total hours on type:

1074

Aircraft flight hours:

5242

Circumstances:

Less than two minutes after takeoff from Campinas-Viracopos Airport, at an altitude of 100 meters, the airplane struck trees, stalled and crashed in eucalyptus forest. The airplane was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 52 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was presumed that the co-pilot was under flight instruction. If such was the case, the instructor, who was pilot-in-command, may have failed to brief or supervise the co-pilot properly. Observations of the Government of Argentina as State of Registry: "Argentina has determined, in the light of information it has gathered, that the cause of the accident was: "Failure to operate under IFR during a takeoff by night in weather conditions requiring IFR operation and failure to follow the climb procedure for this type of aircraft; a contributory cause was the lack of vigilance by the pilot-in-command during the operations."

Final Report:

Crash of a Douglas DC-7C in Recife: 45 killed

Date & Time: Nov 1, 1961 at 0215 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas DC-7

Operator:

Registration:

PP-PDO

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Canadian Vickers PBV-1 Canso (OA-10 Canso)

Schedule:

Lisbon – Praia – Recife – Rio de Janeiro

MSN:

44872

YOM:

1957

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

16243

Captain / Total hours on type:

1004.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

20944

Copilot / Total hours on type:

193

Circumstances:

The aircraft, coming from Lisbon, Portugal with a stop at Ilha do Sal, contacted Recife Control Tower at 0505Z. While flying at night in good visibility the flight received instructions for landing and was to call again on the "wind leg". Reporting as requested, authorization for landing was given, and the aircraft was asked to notify when on "final". Thirty seconds thereafter it collided with high (84 m) ground to the right of the centreline of the runway in use, 2 720 m from the runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed by fire. Thirty-eight passengers and 7 crew members were killed while 43 other occupants were injured.

Probable cause:

The accident was caused by pilot errors, i.e. improper evaluation of distance, flying a non-standard traffic pattern by night and failing to observe altitude minima during the final approach. A contributing cause was the improper night marking of obstructions along the approach path towards runway 15.

Final Report:

Crash of a Canadian Vickers PBV-1A Canso off Parintins

Date & Time: Oct 24, 1961

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

PP-PCY

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Manaus – Belém

MSN:

CV-242

YOM:

1941

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was completing a cargo flight from Manaus to Belém, carrying a load of dangerous goods. The airplane caught fire in flight and the captain reduced his altitude and performed an emergency landing on Rio Amazonas off Parintins. All occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was destroyed by fire.

Probable cause:

In-flight fire.

Crash of a Douglas DC-7C in Belém

Date & Time: Oct 14, 1961

Type of aircraft:

Douglas DC-7

Operator:

Registration:

PP-PDL

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Belém-Val de Cans-Júlio Cezar Ribeiro

Schedule:

Manaus – Belém

MSN:

45122

YOM:

1957

Location:

Pará

Country:

Brazil

Region:

South America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

An hour after his departure from Manaus-Ponta Pelada Airport, the captain informed ATC that the primary hydraulic system failed. He was able to continue the flight and to complete a normal landing at Belém-Val de Cans Airport. After touchdown, when the reverse thrust systems were applied, the crew lost control of the airplane that veered off runway to the right. While contacting soft ground, the undercarriage were sheared off and the airplane came to rest into a ravine. There were no injuries among the occupants but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

The primary hydraulic system failed in flight, causing a major hydraulic leak. Upon landing, the reverse thrust and braking systems were partially inoperative.

Crash of a Sud-Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III in Brasília

Date & Time: Sep 27, 1961 at 1822 LT

Type of aircraft:

Sud-Aviation SE-210 Caravelle

Operator:

Registration:

PP-VJD

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Schedule:

Rio de Janeiro – Brasília

MSN:

YOM:

1959

Flight number:

RG592

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Following an uneventful flight from Rio de Janeiro, the pilot-in-command completed the approach at Brasília Airport. Following a wrong approach configuration, the aircraft landed hard and struck violently the runway surface. On impact, the undercarriage were damaged and the airplane went out of control and veered off runway to the left. While contacting soft ground, the undercarriage were sheared off and the airplane came to rest in flames. All 71 occupants were quickly evacuated and the aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire.

Probable cause:

The accident was the consequence of the combination of the following factors:
- Wrong approach configuration,
- Poor preparation of the approach and landing procedure,
- Lack of crew coordination,
- The pilot-in-command was under conversion training on this type of aircraft and under supervision at the time of the accident.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-40-DL in Concórdia: 4 killed

Date & Time: Sep 6, 1961

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

PP-AVL

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site: