VASP Flight 168
{{short description|1982 aviation accident in Brazil}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| image = Sao Paulo Boeing 727-212 VASP PP-SRK, 1982.jpg
| alt =
| caption = PP-SRK, the aircraft involved in the accident
| occurrence_type = Accident
| date = June 8, 1982
| summary = Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error
| site = Aratanha Mountains, near Pacatuba, CE, Brazil
| coordinates =
| aircraft_type = Boeing 727-212
| aircraft_name =
| operator = VASP
| tail_number = PP-SRK
| IATA = VP 168
| ICAO = VSP 168
| callsign = VASP 168
| origin = Congonhas Airport, São Paulo, Brazil
| stopover = Galeão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| destination = Pinto Martins International Airport, Fortaleza, Brazil
| occupants = 137
| passengers = 128
| crew = 9
| fatalities = 137
| survivors = 0
}}
VASP Flight 168, a Boeing 727-212 registered PP-SRK, was a scheduled passenger flight from São Paulo to Fortaleza, Brazil which, on June 8, 1982, crashed into a mountainside, while descending into Fortaleza, killing all 137 people on board.{{ASN accident|id=19820608-0}}
The crash of Flight 168 remains both the largest death toll of a Brazilian aircraft accident from the 20th century and the third-highest death toll of any aviation accident in Brazil after Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 and TAM Airlines Flight 3054.{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=Brazil air safety profile |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/country/country.php?id=PP |access-date=2019-05-10 |website=Aviation Safety Network}}
Passengers and crew
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2023}}
Flight 168 carried 128 passengers and 9 crew members. Captain Fernando Antônio Vieira de Paiva, age 43, had spent over 15,000 hours in the air. First officer Carlos Roberto Duarte Barbosa, age 28, had logged over 5,000 hours. Engineer José Erimar de Freitas, age 31, had accumulated only 279 hours in the air since his qualification as a flight engineer in 1979, though he had been with VASP since 1971 as an aircraft engineer.{{Cn|date=July 2024}}
Notably, the passengers included Brazilian business magnate Edson Queiroz, whose self-titled conglomerate had pioneered the nation's shift from wood-burning stoves to gas stoves.{{cite web |title=Nossa Historia |trans-title=Our History |url=https://www.geq.com.br/nossa-historia/ |access-date=4 September 2023 |website=GEQ.com.br |publisher=Grupo Edson Queiroz |language=pt}} Queiroz had originally purchased a ticket for a VARIG flight the following morning, but, uncertain it would arrive in time for an early meeting in Fortaleza, exchanged it for a seat on VASP Flight 168 shortly before takeoff.{{Cn|date=July 2024}}
Accident
Flight 168's first leg was from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro, which was completed uneventfully. The flight then departed Rio de Janeiro for Fortaleza. As the flight approached its destination, it was cleared to descend from its cruising altitude of flight level 330 – approximately {{convert|33000|ft|m}} mean sea level – to {{convert|5000|ft|m}}. Flying at night, with the lights of the city of Fortaleza in front, the Boeing 727 descended through its {{convert|5000|ft|m|adj=on}} clearance limit, and kept descending until it crashed into a mountainside at {{convert|2500|ft|m}}, killing all 137 on board.{{cite web|url=http://727.assintel.com.br/acid/pp-srk_727%20datacenter.pdf|title=VASP 168 – O ÚLTIMO VÔO DO PP-SRK|language=pt|trans-title=VASP 168 – Last flight of PP-SRK|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060924132135/http://727.assintel.com.br/acid/pp-srk_727%20datacenter.pdf |archive-date=2006-09-24|access-date=2006-10-03}}{{cite book |last=da Silva |first=Germano |title=O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 |last2=Ari César |first2=Carlos |publisher=EDIPUCRS |year=2008 |isbn=978-85-7430-760-2 |edition=2 |place=Porto Alegre |pages=318–326 |language=pt |trans-title=The witch trail: history of Brazilian commercial aviation in the 20th century through its accidents 1928-1996 |chapter=VASP 168}}
Investigation
The investigation revealed that the captain, possibly disoriented due to bright lights from the city ahead, continued the descent well below the {{convert|5000|ft|m}} clearance limit, despite being warned twice by the ground proximity warning system and the co-pilot of the terrain ahead. As the aircraft kept descending, it struck a wooded mountainside at {{convert|2500|ft|m}} and crashed.{{Cn|date=July 2024}}
See also
{{Portal|Brazil|Aviation|1980s}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://sistema.cenipa.aer.mil.br/cenipa/paginas/relatorios/rf/pt/PP-SRK_08-06-1982.pdf Final Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607221525/http://sistema.cenipa.aer.mil.br/cenipa/paginas/relatorios/rf/pt/PP-SRK_08-06-1982.pdf |date=2021-06-07 }} {{inlang|pt}} - CENIPA
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060925072417/http://727.assintel.com.br/acid/acivas-1.htm Boeing 727-212A PP-SRK (in Portuguese)] – a detailed analysis and description of the accident
- {{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20060528030640/http://www.airdisaster.com/photos/vasp168/photo.shtml photos of the crash site]}}
- {{YouTube|title=CVR recording|id=5e3JWND92GQ}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Brazil}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1982}}
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Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1982
Category:Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain
Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Brazil
Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 727