VASP Flight 640

On VASP Flight 640 (flight number: VP640) a serious accident occurred on 27 February 1975, when an Embraer EMB-110C Bandeirante of the airline Viação Aérea São Paulo (VASP) suffered engine damage shortly after take-off from São Paulo-Congonhas Airport and crashed into a residential area. All 15 people on board were killed in the incident. It was the first fatal incident involving an Embraer EMB110 and the first hull loss of an aircraft of this type.

Sequence of events

The weather conditions were very good that day. The radio transmissions between the captain and air traffic control were normal. The aircraft lifted off at 6:25 from runway 34 of Congonhas Airport. Moments after take-off the operating noise of engine No. 2 changed, and shortly afterwards there was a loss of power. The captain initiated a left turn but could not maintain altitude. At 6:28 the aircraft crashed into a residential area at Rua Espairada 997/997A at a distance of 1.5 kilometres northwest of the airport. The aircraft crashed onto the roofs of four houses, broke apart and exploded, killing all 15 occupants. The tail unit remained lying on a destroyed house. Despite the considerable damage to the houses, there were no fatalities on the ground.

Accident investigation

The commission responsible for the investigation could not determine the causes of the disaster because of the complete destruction of the aircraft. According to the commission's report, the pilot was apparently unable to control the aircraft after an engine had failed, but it was not possible to clarify whether he had still tried to return to Congonhas or was considering an emergency landing at another nearby location.

Embraer also sent the two turbines to a specialised laboratory in Canada, which, however, could not find any defects. In addition, Embraer simulated all possible failure conditions on flights with similar aircraft, but without reaching a usable result.