1973 VARIG Boeing 707 accident near Rio de Janeiro
Boeing 707-327C · Controlled flight into terrain: undershoot (touchdown short of the runway)
From Viracopos International Airport (VCP) to Rio de Janeiro Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport (GIG)
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
- Unknown
- Survivors
- 2
- 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
- 2
- 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 707-327C
- Aircraft type
- Boeing 707
- 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-VLJ
- Operator
- Varig
- Onboard fatalities
- 2
- Route
- From Viracopos International Airport (VCP)To Rio de Janeiro Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport (GIG)
Approximate · Estimated position: Rio de Janeiro Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport, the airport the Wikipedia article names as the site. Where on or near it is not known.
From the Wikipedia article
The accident of a VARIG Boeing 707 near Rio de Janeiro occurred on 9 June 1973, when a VARIG Boeing 707-327C cargo aircraft on a cargo flight from Viracopos Airport to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão Airport was flown into the terrain short of the runway due to pilot error. Two people were killed in the accident.
Accident sequence
The aircraft, loaded with 22 tonnes of cargo, was carrying out an instrument approach to runway 14 at 6:05 local time in dense fog. The airbrake lever was at 45 degrees. The fuselage-side spoilers were retracted when one of the pilots noticed that the cover for the button for extending the spoilers was open, contrary to regulations. While trying to close it, the button was inadvertently pressed and the spoilers were extended. From its altitude of 70 metres the aircraft went into a steep descent from which it could no longer be recovered. The aircraft clipped the approach lights of Rio de Janeiro-Galeão Airport, struck the ground hard and slid into the sea beyond the runway.
The captain and the second officer were killed. The first officer and the flight engineer swam out of the wreck and were pulled from the water by fishermen.
Translated into English with AI assistance from the German Wikipedia article “Flugunfall einer Boeing 707 der VARIG bei Rio de Janeiro 1973” (revision 248735721, retrieved 2026-09-19) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out; the translation may contain errors, and long articles were cut to their first 700 words. Read the article
Sources
German Wikipedia article: Flugunfall einer Boeing 707 der VARIG bei Rio de Janeiro 1973
- Translation
- Into English with AI assistance; names of linked operators and aircraft types from Wikidata. It may contain errors.
- Revision
- 248735721 · 2024-09-19 · retrieved 2026-09-19
- Wikidata
- Q65235423
- 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
- de Wikipedia article "Flugunfall einer Boeing 707 der VARIG bei Rio de Janeiro 1973" (page 10749750, revision 248735721), translated into English with AI assistance
- 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
- operator is an airline according to Wikidata
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia article lead
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the German Wikipedia article's infobox, translated into English with AI assistance, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.