1963 Douglas DC-3 PP-VBV accident
Varig Douglas DC-3 · Pilot error caused by adverse weather conditions
From Porto Alegre to Erechim
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
- 11 · 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
Douglas DC-3
- Aircraft type
- Douglas DC-3
- 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-VBV
- Operator
- Varig
- Onboard fatalities
- 11
- Route
- From Porto AlegreTo Erechim
Approximate · Estimated position: Lauro Kurtz Airport, the airport the Wikipedia article names as the site. Where on or near it is not known.
From the Wikipedia article
The Varig Flight 280 accident was an air disaster that occurred in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, on 1 July 1963. In thick fog, VARIG's Douglas DC-3 registered PP-VBV, coming from Carazinho, collided with a tree while attempting to land at Passo Fundo airport. The collision and consequent crash broke the aircraft apart, but the fuel tanks did not explode, allowing the rescue of the two survivors, while 11 people (passengers and crew) died in the crash. Among those killed in the disaster was Dom Luís Filipe De Nadal, bishop of Uruguaiana.
Accident
The flight began in Porto Alegre at 16:14 on 1 July 1963 and was bound for the city of Erechim, with scheduled stopovers in Carazinho and Passo Fundo. On flying over Passo Fundo, the flight's second stopover, captain Magnus Beckheuser encountered thick fog over the city, with almost zero visibility. While carrying out the approach procedures for landing, the aircraft collided at 17:35 with a 30-metre-tall tree and crashed on the outskirts of Passo Fundo airport. Despite the crash, the aircraft did not explode and its wreckage was scattered over a plot of land beside the Olaria Maggi brickworks. Three people were rescued alive from the wreckage, one of whom died on entering hospital, while the others were found dead. Before the authorities arrived at the accident site, the aircraft wreckage was looted.
Translated into English with AI assistance from the Portuguese Wikipedia article “Acidente do Douglas DC-3 prefixo PP-VBV em 1963” (revision 72635456, 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: Acidente do Douglas DC-3 prefixo PP-VBV em 1963
- Translation
- Into English with AI assistance; names of linked operators and aircraft types from Wikidata. It may contain errors.
- Revision
- 72635456 · 2026-07-16 · retrieved 2026-09-19
- Wikidata
- Q25421733
- 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 "Acidente do Douglas DC-3 prefixo PP-VBV em 1963" (page 4923849, revision 72635456), translated into English with AI assistance
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site; country from Wikidata (P17)
- 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
- Reviewed correction (2026-09-26): A VARIG DC-3 on a route with scheduled stopovers carrying passengers: an airline passenger flight. The article: "The flight began in Porto Alegre at 16:14 on 1 July 1963 and was bound for the city of Erechim, with scheduled stopovers in Carazinho and Passo Fundo."
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft 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.