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VASP Flight 210

28 Jan 1986 · São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport, São Paulo, Brazil

Boeing 737-2A1 · Take-off attempt on taxiway, runway excursion

From São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU) to Tancredo Neves International Airport (CNF)

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Event

Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
Event fatalities
1 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
72
Survivors
71
InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
9
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
Airline

Boeing 737-2A1

Flight
VP210
Aircraft type
Boeing 737
Category
Airplane · from aircraft type
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
PP-SME
Operator
VASP
Onboard fatalities
1
Route
From São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU)To Tancredo Neves International Airport (CNF)

Cause areas

  • Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena
  • Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge
  • Environmental issues › Operating environment

From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.

Approximate · Estimated position: São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport, the airport the Wikipedia article names as the site. Where on or near it is not known.

From the Wikipedia article

VASP Flight 210 was a domestic flight from Guarulhos to Belo Horizonte, Brazil operated by a Boeing 737-200 owned by São Paulo-based Viação Aérea São Paulo (VASP). On 28 January 1986 it ran off the end of the taxiway from which it mistakenly tried to take off, and collided with an embankment, killing one passenger and injuring nine others.

Accident

On 28 January 1986, dense fog covered the São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport. The pilots inadvertently lined up with the taxiway instead of runway 09L. At a speed of around 135 kn, take-off was aborted and braking was applied. At 07:32 the aircraft ran off the end of the taxiway and hit a dyke, breaking the front end of the fuselage off, and crumpling the cockpit. One passenger was killed, and the aircraft was written off.

Investigation and cause

Cause

A combination of intense fog, and pilot's lack of knowledge with the new airport's runway and taxiway configuration caused the crash. A large factor in the incident was also the lack of ground radar and taxiway vehicles.

Text from the Wikipedia article “VASP Flight 210” (revision 1363394408, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article

Sources

Wikipedia article: VASP Flight 210
Article
VASP Flight 210
Revision
1363394408 · 2026-07-09 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q65246489
Licence
Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
Record
Wikipedia article "VASP Flight 210" (page 70353299, revision 1363394408)
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site
Map position
airport the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata code, OurAirports)
Aircraft, operator and route
Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
Operation
airline flight number in the infobox
Fatalities
Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
Ground fatalities
not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
Summary
Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
  • Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.