VASP Flight 168
| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | June 8, 1982 |
| Type | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Serra da Aratanha, near Pacatuba, Ceará, Brazil |
| Passengers | 128 |
| Crew | 9 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Fatalities | 137 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 727-212A |
| Operator | VASP |
| Tail number | PP-SRK |
VASP Flight 168, a Boeing 727-212A, serial number 21347, registered PP-SRK, was a scheduled passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro to Fortaleza, Brazil, on June 8, 1982, which crashed into terrain while descending into Fortaleza, killing all 137 people on board.[1]
Flight 168 crash has the third-highest death toll of any aviation accident in Brazil after the crash of Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 and TAM Airlines Flight 3054.
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[edit] Flight history
Flight 168's first leg was from São Paulo, Brazil, to Rio de Janeiro, which was completed uneventfully. The flight then departed Rio de Janeiro on its way to Fortaleza. As the flight approached its destination, it was cleared to descend from its cruising altitude of flight level 330 – approximately 33,000 feet (10,059 m) mean sea level – to 5,000 feet (1,524 m). Flying at night, with the lights of the city of Fortaleza in front, the Boeing 727 descended through its 5,000 feet (1,524 m) clearance limit, and kept on descending until it crashed into a mountainside at 2,500 feet (762 m), killing all 137 on board.[2]
[edit] Investigation
Investigation revealed that the captain, possibly disoriented due to bright lights from the city ahead, continued the descent well below the 5,000-foot (1,524-m) clearance limit, despite being warned twice by the altitude alert system, as well as by the co-pilot, of the terrain ahead. As the Boeing kept descending, it struck a wooded mountainside at 2,500 feet (762 m) and crashed.
From the final cockpit voice recorder translated transcript:[3]
F/O = First Officer
CAPT = Captain
F/O: Can you see there are some hills in front?
[Sound of altitude alert]
CAPT: What? There's what?
F/O: Some hills, isn't there?
[Sound of impact]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ "VASP 168 - O ÚLTIMO VÔO DO PP-SRK (VASP 168 - Last flight of PP-SRK)" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2006-09-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20060924132135/http://727.assintel.com.br/acid/pp-srk_727+datacenter.pdf. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
- ^ "Plane Crash Info accident record (Warning: very disturbing to listen to.)". http://www.planecrashinfo.com/cvr820608.htm.
[edit] External links
- Boeing 727-212A PP-SRK pre-crash photo plus article (in Portuguese) - a very detailed analysis and description of the accident plus many photos
- photos of the crash site
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