VARIG flight 837

VARIG flight 837
A structurally identical Douglas DC-8-33 from VARIG
Accident summary
Accident type	Controlled flight into terrain on final approach
place	Monrovia , Liberia
date	March 5th 1967
Fatalities	51
Survivors	39
Fatalities on the ground	5
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Douglas DC-8-33
operator	VARIG
Mark	PP-PEA
Departure airport	Beirut Airport , Lebanon
1. Stopover	Rome Fiumicino Airport , Italy
2. Stopover	Monrovia-Roberts International Airport , Liberia
Destination airport	Rio de Janeiro-Galeão Airport , Brazil
Passengers	71
crew	19th
Lists of aviation accidents

On the VARIG flight 837 (flight number: RG837 , radio call sign : VARIG 837 ), a Douglas DC-8-33 of the Brazilian airline VARIG had an accident on March 5, 1967 . The machine that a flight from Rome Fiumicino Airport to Monrovia in Liberia carried out, was it steered due to a pilot error shortly before the scheduled landing in the ground ( controlled flight into terrain ), where 56 people died. So far (October 2019) it is the most serious aircraft accident in Liberia.

plane

The plane that crashed was a six-year-old Douglas DC-8-33, built in 1959, but only delivered to Pan American World Airways in June 1961 , where it was operated under the name Clipper Flying Cloud . Since the Pan Am soon switched its fleet of long-haul aircraft from the Douglas DC-8 to the Boeing 707 , the machine was floated in March 1962 at Panair do Brasil , a subsidiary of Pan Am. The machine was used there under the name Garcia d'Ávila . After the Panair's flight license was revoked on February 10, 1965, the machine was finally taken over by VARIG , which, like the Pan Am, actually relied on Boeing 707 machines. The machine had the factory number 45253, it was the fifth Douglas DC-8 from ongoing production. The DC-8 was equipped with four Pratt & Whitney JT4A engines and had completed 16,775 flight hours at the time of the accident.

crew

There was a 19-person crew on board, consisting of a master, first officer, flight engineer and 16 flight attendants.

Flight history

The plane took off from Rome Fiumicino Airport at 10:08 pm local time . The flight to Monrovia in Liberia went smoothly up to the approach to the destination airport. At a distance of 5 miles (approx. 8 kilometers) from the airport and at an altitude of 4500 feet (approx. 1370 meters) the crew made radio contact with air traffic control in Monrovia. The air traffic controller gave the pilots clearance to descend to 3000 feet (approx. 910 meters) and informed them that the virtual pressure was 1009.0 mb. The pilots correctly reported the information about the virtual pressure, but did not repeat the clearance for the descent and continued the approach at an altitude of 4500 feet.

When the master saw the lights at Monrovia airport, he informed the first officer that he wanted to perform an instrument flight despite the fact that he had the runway in view . At this point the aircraft was flying significantly higher than planned in this phase of the approach. The master lowered the machine at a speed of 500 to 700 feet (approx. 150 to 210 meters) per minute and reduced the airspeed from 210 to 170 knots (approx. 390/315 km / h). He extended the landing gear and set the flaps for the approach to runway 04 to 35 degrees. While approaching the airport from the coast, the captain reported that he could see the runway in front of him, slightly to his left. The first officer announced the descent in steps of 100 feet (about 30 meters). He checked the vertical speed displays.

At an altitude of 1000 feet (approx. 300 meters) the master fully extended the flaps. Shortly afterwards, at an altitude of about 700 to 800 feet (approx. 210-240 meters), the machine flew into a stratified cloud front and wafts of mist. At this point the master told the first officer that it was no longer necessary for him to continue announcing the speed and altitude and instructed him to look out for the runway and notify him as soon as he saw it. Despite the poor visibility, the master continued the approach.

The aircraft's altitude above the radio beacon FR was 800 feet (approx. 240 meters) with a planned 520 feet (approx. 160 meters). The master increased the rate of descent again to 1200 to 1500 feet (approx. 370/460 meters) per minute. About 15 seconds after the machine had flown over point FR, the first officer reported that he had the runway in sight, but visibility was poor and the machine was flying too low. The descent was continued and the DC-8 hit 1.8 kilometers from the runway ( controlled flight into terrain ).

Victim

In the accident, 51 of the 90 passengers and five people died on the ground. The flight engineer was also killed, the other 18 crew members survived the accident. The investigation report criticized the fact that the 18 surviving crew members did not make any particular effort to assist in the evacuation of the remaining passengers in the aircraft.

Cause of accident

The investigators cited the cause of the accident as the captain's incorrect decision to initiate a steep descent instead of a missed approach when he became aware that he was at too high an altitude. In the last phase of the flight, the inability of the master to intercept the descent, which was initiated too steeply from a low altitude, caused the accident.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Accident report DC-8-30 PP-PEA , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on March 27, 2019.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Operating history DC-8-33, PP-PEA Planespotters (English), accessed on March 28, 2019.
3. ↑ ^{a b} ICAO Aircraft Accident Digest No. 17 Volume II, Circular 88-AN / 74 (English), pp. 142–150.

Coordinates: 6 ° 12 '25.2 "  N , 10 ° 22' 44.3"  W.