VASP Flight 168
A VASP Boeing 727-2A1, similar to the one involved in the accident.
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | June 8, 1982 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Serra da Aratanha, near Pacatuba, Ceará, Brazil |
| Passengers | 128 |
| Crew | 9 |
| Fatalities | 137 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 727-212 |
| Operator | VASP |
| Registration | PP-SRK |
VASP Flight 168, a Boeing 727-212, serial number 21347, registered PP-SRK, was a scheduled passenger flight from São Paulo to Fortaleza, Brazil, on June 8, 1982, which crashed into terrain while descending into Fortaleza, killing all 137 people on board.
The crash of Flight 168 remains the third-highest death toll of any aviation accident in Brazil after Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 and TAM Airlines Flight 3054.
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 descending until it crashed into a mountainside at 2,500 feet (762 m), killing all 137 on board.
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:
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?
Coordinates: 3°46′52″S 38°52′19″W / 3.78111°S 38.87194°W
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