VASP Flight 234
Boeing 737-2A1 · Runway excursion
From Congonhas–Deputado Freitas Nobre Airport (CGH) to Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport (BSB)
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
- 2 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 118
- Survivors
- 116
- 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
- 17
- 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
- VP234
- 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-SMY
- Operator
- VASP
- Onboard fatalities
- 2
- Route
- From Congonhas–Deputado Freitas Nobre Airport (CGH)To Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport (BSB)
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Task performance
- Personnel issues › Psychological
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Estimated position: Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek 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 234 was a domestic flight of the Viação Aérea São Paulo (VASP) airline from São Paulo-Congonhas Airport to Brasília International Airport. On May 25, 1982, an accident involving a Boeing 737-200 registered as PP-SMY occurred on this flight when the captain landed the aircraft incorrectly due to an optical illusion, causing the aircraft to skid off of the runway. Two passengers were killed in the accident.
Accident
The flight from São Paulo to Brasília initially went without any special incidents. The landing in Brasília was carried out at 23:40 in heavy rain. When landing, the aircraft touched down with the nose gear first. This then collapsed under the load. The aircraft went left the runway and broke into two pieces near row 12. Most people were injured there. Two passengers were killed and 17 others were injured.
Investigation and cause
Cause
It was determined that the captain had previously activated the system to spray the cockpit window with a rain deflector liquid. The incorrect use of the agent resulted in an optical illusion in the rain, causing the captain to touch down the aircraft first with the nose landing gear instead of with the main landing gear as intended.
It was also revealed that the captain had visited a doctor shortly before the flight and complained of ongoing health problems. However, he claimed that he was still able to work and stated that he had to take the flight to Brasília. Other VASP pilots complained that they were under a lot of work pressure from the airline and blamed the tense working atmosphere on the state airline's vice president, Alex Barroso, who was also the commander of the Brazilian Air Force. The aviation authority explained that the meteorological conditions at the time accident would have been above the required minimum.
Text from the Wikipedia article “VASP Flight 234” (revision 1363393806, 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 234
- Article
- VASP Flight 234
- Revision
- 1363393806 · 2026-07-09 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q65246491
- 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 234" (page 78522916, revision 1363393806)
- 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.