Paraibuna air disaster
VASP Saab 90 Scandia and Private Cessna 310 · Pilot error
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
- 26 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- Unknown
- Survivors
- Unknown
- 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
- Unknown
- 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
Aircraft 1 · Saab 90 Scandia
- Aircraft type
- Saab 90
- 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-SRA
- Operator
- VASP
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From Congonhas–Deputado Freitas Nobre Airport (CGH)To Santos Dumont Airport (SDU)
Aircraft 2 · Cessna 310
- Aircraft type
- Cessna 310
- 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
- PT-BRQ
- Operator
- private
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From Santos Dumont Airport (SDU)To Campo de Marte Airport (RTE)
Approximate · Estimated position: Paraibuna, the place the Wikipedia article names. Not the accident site.
From the Wikipedia article
The Paraibuna air disaster was an air accident that occurred on 26 November 1962, involving two aircraft - a VASP Saab 90 Scandia and a private Cessna 310 - which, after colliding in the air, fell in the town of Paraibuna, São Paulo, killing all 26 passengers and crew of the two aircraft.
Accident
At around 8:40 the VASP SAAB 90 Scandia aircraft took off from Congonhas Airport in São Paulo bound for Santos Dumont Airport in Rio de Janeiro, where it was due to land about 1 hour later, operating another flight of the Rio–São Paulo air shuttle. It was carrying 18 passengers and 3 crew members and was commanded by captain Jack Torres Soares.
The privately owned Cessna 310 aircraft had taken off at almost the same time from Santos Dumont Airport in Rio de Janeiro and was due to land at Campo de Marte Airport in São Paulo; it was carrying 2 passengers and 1 crew member.
Both aircraft were using airway AB6; while the Scandia was flying on instruments (IFR), the Cessna was flying under visual flight rules (VFR). Air traffic control had instructed the Scandia to fly at a ceiling of 8000 feet, while the Cessna was to maintain a ceiling of 8500 feet. For unknown reasons, the Cessna maintained a ceiling of 8000 feet. As a result, the two aircraft collided head-on at around 9:10, at an altitude of 8000 feet, near Paraibuna, São Paulo. With the collision, the two aircraft exploded, instantly killing their passengers and crew. The wreckage of the Scandia would fall into a marshy valley, while what remained of the Cessna was found at a spot 5 km away from the Scandia's wreckage..
Translated into English with AI assistance from the Portuguese Wikipedia article “Desastre aéreo de Paraibuna” (revision 69364776, 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
Portuguese Wikipedia article: Desastre aéreo de Paraibuna
- Article
- Desastre aéreo de Paraibuna
- Translation
- Into English with AI assistance; names of linked operators and aircraft types from Wikidata. It may contain errors.
- Revision
- 69364776 · 2025-01-15 · retrieved 2026-09-19
- Wikidata
- Q10265409
- 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
- pt Wikipedia article "Desastre aéreo de Paraibuna" (page 3733941, revision 69364776), translated into English with AI assistance
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site; country from Wikidata (P17)
- Map position
- place the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata coordinates)
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- Reviewed correction (2026-09-26): The VASP Scandia was on the Rio–São Paulo air shuttle with 18 passengers when it hit a private Cessna: an airline flight. The article: "operating another flight of the Rio–São Paulo air shuttle"
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: total_fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Portuguese Wikipedia article's infobox, translated into English with AI assistance, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.