Rio Grande do Sul

On approach to Passo Fundo Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with low visibility. On final, the aircraft was too low, struck trees and crashed in a wooded area located few km short of runway threshold. Both pilots and 13 passengers were killed while three other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

The crew was completing a flight from Jaguarão to Porto Alegre with intermediate stops at Rio Grande and Pelotas on behalf of Varig. During the takeoff roll, the airplane deviated to the right. The pilot-in-command elected to regain control but due to over-correction, the airplane turned sharply to the left, swung on runway and eventually veered off runway to the left before colliding with two parked DC-3 (registered PP-ABZ and PP-HDJ). A fire erupted and all three aircraft were destroyed by fire. While both other aircraft were empty at the time of the accident, both pilots and eight passengers were killed, the other occupants were injured.

The seaplane crashed into the Rio Guaíba while approaching Porto Alegre by night. Two crew members were killed while four others were injured.

The crew (one pilot under check and one instructor) were conducting a local training flight at Porto Alegre-Salgado Filho Airport. While passing over the runway at low height, the instructor shut down the right engine to simulate a failure when the airplane rolled to the right. The instructor elected to correct the situation by an action on the rudder but the airplane reached a critical attitude. Power was reduced on the second engine and the aircraft crash landed. Both occupants were slightly injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

During the takeoff roll, the airplane started to skid and deviated from the centerline to the right. The pilot-in-command decided to rotate but as the aircraft's speed was too low, it stalled and hit the ground. It then overran and took off again. While facing a hill, the crew attempted a sharp turn to the left when the left wing hit the roof of a house. Out of control, the airplane stalled and crashed in flames. All three crew members were killed.

Just after take-off, the pilot noticed an incipient fire in the left engine. Acting in accordance with airline regulations, he feathered the damaged engine, returning to the traffic pattern for a landing circuit and carrying out routine radio communications. On final approach, when he considered that a safe landing could be made, he operated the undercarriage lowering mechanism. Because of the intensity of th'e fire, which was in the undercarriage housing and not, as the pilot thought, in the engine, some parts must already have melted and the undercarriage did not respond to the mechanism. Apparently the critical situation had already passed, since the fire, although intense, was not producing much smoke. The pilot, therefore, decided to give full throttle, in order to avoid a belly landing. In this he was still following airline regulations. After this action, when the aircraft reached the intersection of runways 05 and 23, flames enveloped the left wing and detached it from the fuselage. The aircraft hit the ground and was destroyed. All occupants, 5 crew members and 35 passengers, were killed.

The aircraft left São Paulo-Congonhas Airport at 1145LT bound for Porto Alegre. En route, weather conditions deteriorated and the crew obtained the permission to reduce his altitude to 3,000 feet. While flying in poor visibility due to heavy rain falls, the pilot-in-command did not realize that his altitude was insufficient when the aircraft hit trees. The left wing was sheared off and the aircraft crashed into the forest of Aparados da Serra located about 5 km southeast of Bom Jesus. Four passengers were rescued while 14 other occupants were killed, among them the Argentinian musicians Miguel Cao and Ivo Schwanter.

The twin engine aircraft left Porto Alegre around 1100LT bound for São Borja with an IFR flight plan filed at an altitude of 4,500 feet. Few minutes later, the captain requested to continue in VFR when he encountered poor visibility. The aircraft christened 'São Pedro do Rio Grande' was flying in clouds when it hit the slope of the Cerro Cortelini located near São Francisco de Assis. All 12 occupants were killed, among them Gustavo Ernesto de Carvalho Kraemer, captain and founder of the Sociedade Anônima Viação Aérea Gaúcha (SAVAG) and Joaquim Pedro Salgado Filho, senator and ex Minister of Aviation. They were returning to São Borja after they visited the site where a Panair Constellation crashed two days earlier.

A first approach to Porto Alegre was abandoned due to poor weather conditions. The crew followed a circuit vertical to the city and eventually informed ATC that his fuel reserve was low. During a second attempt to land, while approaching in VFR mode in low visibility, the four engine aircraft was too low when it hit power cables and crashed in flames on the slope of a 200 meters hill located about 15 km from the runway threshold. All 51 occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the pilot in command was trying to maintain a visual contact with the ground.

The aircraft left São Paulo-Congonhas Airport at 1123LT bound for Porto Alegre. Some 20 minutes prior to the estimated time of arrival, a fire in cargo hold 'G' was noted. The pilot executed an emergency descent while the mechanics tried, in vain, to extinguish the fire. The flight crew members were not able to see their instruments due to heavy smoke and had to keep their heads out of the window to carry out an emergency landing in hilly terrain. The passengers crowded in panic at the forward end of the cabin in an attempt to escape from the fire. This caused a dangerous and sudden change in the Centre of Gravity of the plane. The aircraft swung violently during the landing on rough ground.
Source: ASN