VASP Flight 640

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VASP Flight 640
Embraer Bandeirante PP-SBC (1974) (trimming) .jpg

A VASP Embraer EMB-110 in 1974
Accident summary
Accident type Engine failure on take-off
place São Paulo , BrazilBrazil 1960Brazil 
date February 27, 1975
Fatalities 15th
Survivors 0
Aircraft
Aircraft type Brazil 1960Brazil Embraer EMB-110C Bandeirante
operator Brazil 1960Brazil Viação Aérea São Paulo
Mark Brazil 1960Brazil PP-SBE
Departure airport Sao Paulo-Congonhas Airport , BrazilBrazil 1960Brazil 
Stopover Araçatuba Airport , Brazil
Brazil 1960Brazil 
Destination airport Bauru Airport , Brazil
Brazil 1960Brazil 
Passengers 13
crew 2
Lists of aviation accidents

On the VASP Flight 640 (Flight number: VP640 ) a serious flight accident when on a occurred on February 27, 1975 Embraer EMB-110C Bandeirante airline Viação Aérea São Paulo (VASP) shortly after taking off from the airport Congonhas a Engine failure occurred and she crashed into a residential area. All 15 people on board were killed in the incident. It was the first fatal incident involving an Embraer EMB110 and the first total loss of a machine of this type.

machine

The aircraft concerned was an Embraer EMB-110C Bandeirante built in 1974 with the serial number 110021. The aircraft was delivered to VASP in May 1974 and carried the aircraft registration PP-SBE . The twin-engined regional aircraft was 2 turboprop engines of the type Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 equipped. The EMB-110C was the first commercial aircraft from Brazilian production, the aircraft model offered space for up to 15 passengers and was only introduced in 1973.

crew

There was a two-person crew, consisting of a flight captain and a first officer on board:

  • The 29-year-old captain Milton Luís Figueroa had the function of pilot flying during the flight. He was a graduate of the Brazilian Air Force Academy and was in possession of type ratings for the Cessna 310 , Cessna 320 , Cessna 411 and Beechcraft C-45 aircraft types . Figueroa had 4125 hours of flight experience, 625 of which he had completed with the Embraer EMB110.
  • The 23-year-old first officer Alberto Silva Bastos (born September 11, 1951 in Rio de Janeiro ) was like Captain Figueroa a graduate of the Academy of Air Forces of Brazil. He had 392 hours of flight experience, 204 of which he had completed in the cockpit of the Embraer EMB110.

No flight attendants were provided on the regional flight.

Passengers and flight schedule

The regional flight VP640 within the state of São Paulo from the city of São Paulo to Araçatuba , with a stopover in Bauru , had 13 passengers on that day.

the accident

The weather conditions were very good that day. The radio communications between the master and air traffic control were normal. The plane took off from runway 34 at Congonhas Airport at 6:25 a.m. Moments after take-off, the operating noise of engine no. 2 changed, shortly afterwards there was a loss of power. The master initiated a left turn, but could not maintain the altitude. The plane crashed at 6:28 a.m. in a residential area on Rua Espairada 997 / 997A, 1.5 kilometers northwest of the airport. The machine crashed on the roofs of four houses, broke apart and exploded, killing all 15 occupants. The tail unit remains on a destroyed house. Despite the considerable damage to the houses, there were no fatalities on the ground.

Rescue and recovery operations

When the fire department arrived fifteen minutes after the crash, there was little more they could do than cordon off the site, put out the fire, and recover the 15 corpses from the rubble.

Accident investigation

The commission responsible for the investigation could not determine the causes of the disaster due to the complete destruction of the aircraft. According to the commission's report, the pilot was apparently unable to control the machine after an engine failed, but it was not possible to determine whether he had attempted to return to Congonhas or an emergency landing at another nearby location considered.

Embraer also sent the two turbines to a special laboratory in Canada, which, however, could not find any defects. In addition, Embraer simulated all possible failure conditions on flights with similar machines, but without arriving at a usable result.

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