Viação Aérea São Paulo S/A (São Paulo Airways), better known as VASP, was an airline with its head office in the VASP Building on the grounds of
São Paulo–Congonhas Airport
São Paulo/Congonhas–Deputado Freitas Nobre Airport is one of the four commercial airports serving São Paulo, Brazil. The airport is named after the neighborhood where it is located, called Vila Congonhas, property of the descendants of Luc ...
in
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, Brazil. It had main bases at São Paulo's two major airports,
São Paulo–Congonhas Airport
São Paulo/Congonhas–Deputado Freitas Nobre Airport is one of the four commercial airports serving São Paulo, Brazil. The airport is named after the neighborhood where it is located, called Vila Congonhas, property of the descendants of Luc ...
(CGH) and
São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport
São Paulo/Guarulhos – Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport is the primary international airport serving São Paulo. It is popularly known locally as either ''Cumbica Airport'', after the district where it is located and the B ...
(GRU).
History
![BAC 1-11 422EQ PP-SRT VASP Galeao 07](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/BAC_1-11_422EQ_PP-SRT_VASP_Galeao_07.05.72_edited-3.jpg)
The airline was established on 4 November 1933 by the state government of
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
and started operations on 12 November 1933. VASP was the first airline to serve the interior of the state of São Paulo (
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
-
São Carlos
São Carlos (Saint Charles, in English, ; named after Saint Charles Borromeo) is a Brazilian municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, 254 kilometers from the city of São Paulo. With a population of 254,484 inhabitants, it is th ...
-
São José do Rio Preto
São José do Rio Preto () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The city is located at the northwest portion of the state, 440 km (273 mi) from the city of São Paulo and 700 km (435 mi) from Brasília. As of ...
and
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
-
Ribeirão Preto
Ribeirão Preto (Portuguese pronunciation: ibejˈɾɐ̃w ˈpɾetu is a municipality and a metropolitan area located in the northeastern region of São Paulo state, Brazil.
Ribeirão Preto is the eighth-largest municipality in the State wi ...
-
Uberaba
Uberaba () is a city in the state of Minas Gerais, southeast Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Highlands at above sea level on the Uberaba River, and away from the state capital, Belo Horizonte. The city status was granted in 1856, and i ...
), with two
Monospar ST-4
The General Aircraft Monospar was a 1930s British family of touring and utility aircraft built by General Aircraft Ltd (GAL).
Design and development
In 1929, the Monospar Company Ltd was formed to pursue new techniques of designing cantilever ...
. At the start of the 1930s, it was the only carrier to operate with land planes in their service area. At the time this was a real exploit due to the lack of adequate non-coastal airports. Many landing strips were improvised in flat pastures. This insistence on using only land planes led to the building in 1936 of one of the country's most important airports,
Congonhas
Congonhas (Congonhas do Campo until 1948) is a historical Brazilian city located in the state of Minas Gerais. It is situated south from Belo Horizonte, the capital of state of Minas Gerais, by the highway BR-040. As of 2020, the city had a popul ...
, located in the city of São Paulo, far from the coast. During its early years, Congonhas Airport was popularly known as ''Campo da VASP'' ("VASP's airfield").
In 1939, VASP bought
Aerolloyd Iguassu
Aerolloyd Iguassú S.A., was a Brazilian airline founded in 1933. In 1939 it was sold to VASP.
History
Aerolloyd Iguassú was founded in the beginning of 1933, in Curitiba, Brazil with initial financial support from the mate manufacturer Ma ...
, which included also a license to operate flights to the states of
Paraná and
Santa Catarina. In 1962, VASP became a national airline when it acquired
Lóide Aéreo Nacional
Lóide Aéreo Nacional S/A was a Brazilian airline founded in 1947 as Transporte Carga Aérea (TCA). It was renamed Lóide Aéreo Nacional in 1949, after it merged with Linhas Aéreas Paulistas (LAP) and Transportes Aéreos Bandeirantes (TABA). ...
, and with it its license to operate nationwide.
On 6 July 1959, VASP,
Cruzeiro do Sul and
Varig
VARIG (acronym for Viação Aérea RIo-Grandense, ''Rio Grandean Airways'') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline, and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went ...
initiated the
air shuttle services between
Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont and São Paulo-Congonhas airports, the first of its kind in the world. The three companies coordinated their schedules, operations, and shared revenue. The service was a direct response to the competition imposed by
Real Transportes Aéreos
Real Transportes Aéreos (acronym to Redes Estaduais Aéreas Limitadas, literal translation: State Air Networks Limited) was a Brazilian airline founded in 1945. It was merged into Varig in 1961, when Varig bought the Consórcio Real-Aerovias-Nac ...
. The idea, baptized as Air bridge ( in Portuguese), inspired on the
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road ...
was so successful that it was abandoned only in 1999. Flights operated on an hourly basis initially by
Convair 240
The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inro ...
(Varig),
Convair 340
The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inr ...
(Cruzeiro) and
Saab 90 Scandia
The Saab 90 Scandia was a civil passenger aeroplane, manufactured by the Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (SAAB), in Linköping, Sweden. In 1944, as it was becoming clear that hostilities in Europe (the Second World War) would soon be at an end, SA ...
(VASP). In a matter of a few months the shuttle service led by Varig won the battle against Real, which was anyway bought by Varig in 1961.
Sadia Transportes Aéreos
TransBrasil was a Brazilian airline which ceased operations on 3 December 2001. During most of its history, Transbrasil was owned by local entrepreneur Omar Fontana. Its aircraft usually featured a colorful livery, remarkably with a rainbow on the ...
joined the service in 1968. Between 1975 and 1992 it was operated exclusively by Varig's
Lockheed L-188 Electra
The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensiv ...
which for sometime and for the sake of neutrality did not have the name Varig on the fuselage.
Although it had been remarkably well-run for most of its life as a state-owned company, by the 1980s VASP was being plagued by inefficiency, losses covered by state capital injections, and a bloated payroll for political reasons. Under the Brazilian government's
neoliberal
Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...
policies newly introduced at the time, VASP was privatized in 1990. A majority stake was bought by the VOE/Canhedo Group, a company formed by the Canhedo Group of Brasília and VASP employees.
Under the command of its new owner and president, Wagner Canhedo, VASP quickly expanded operations in the country, and created international routes. Until VASP's entry into the international market, Varig had, for all intents and purposes, been Brazil's sole international airline since 1965. However, after many years of mismanagement, financial losses, soaring debt and bad credit, in 2002 it cancelled all of its international operations to concentrate in the domestic market. By that time, VASP had plummeted from the second to the fourth position in the Brazilian airline market, flying an aging fleet of
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...
s (most of them of the obsolete −200 series) and
Airbus A300
The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus.
In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner.
West G ...
s.
The company faced its worst crisis in 2004 as new airlines such rise in the country, which led to the suspension of service to many Brazilian cities and the cancellation of flights. As a result, VASP – once a proud, competitive airline – had its domestic market share reduced to 10%. On 27 January 2005, Brazil's then civil aviation regulator, DAC, grounded the airline from operating scheduled services pending a financial investigation. VASP was allowed to operate charter services until April 2005, giving it a chance to prove its financial stability in order to retain its air operator certificate.
By December 2007, the once-proud company had stopped flying altogether, and was reduced to providing maintenance services to other airlines. Even during the worst of VASP's troubles, its maintenance expertise and personnel had always been held in high regard. It had been operating under the new Brazilian bankruptcy law since July 2006, and had its recovery plan approved on 27 August 2006. However, in 2008 it declared bankruptcy.
As of October 2020, nine of the company's planes (seven
Boeing 737-200
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...
s and two
Airbus A300
The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus.
In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner.
West G ...
s) are still grounded at
Congonhas-São Paulo Airport since 2005 and by now badly weathered and dilapidated, began to be dismantled and sold for scrap at auction. Each plane in its current condition was estimated to be worth only 30,000 to 50,000
real
Real may refer to:
Currencies
* Brazilian real (R$)
* Central American Republic real
* Mexican real
* Portuguese real
* Spanish real
* Spanish colonial real
Music Albums
* ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000)
* ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...
(approximately $20,000 to 33,000 US dollars), considerably less than even its monthly parking and storage fees. The company's fleet of 27 planes had been also grounded in similar circumstances since 2005 at various Brazilian airports.
Services
![VASP Airbus A300 Aragao](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/VASP_Airbus_A300_Aragao.jpg)
Services at time of closure
VASP operated services to the following domestic scheduled destinations (as of January 2005):
Aracaju
Aracaju () is the capital of the state of Sergipe, Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country on the coast, about 350 km (217 mi) north of Salvador. According to the 2020 estimate, the city has 664,908 inhabitants, which re ...
,
Belém
Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in t ...
,
Brasília
Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
,
Curitiba
Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...
,
Fortaleza
Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...
,
Foz do Iguaçu
Foz do Iguaçu (''Iguazu River Mouth'') () is the Brazilian city on the border of Iguaçu Falls. The city is the 7th largest in the state of Paraná. The city's population is approximately 258,000. It is approximately 650 km (400 mi) we ...
,
Maceió
Maceió (), formerly sometimes Anglicised as Maceio, is the capital and the largest city of the coastal state of Alagoas, Brazil. The name "Maceió" is an Indigenous term for a spring. Most maceiós flow to the sea, but some get trapped and form l ...
,
Manaus
Manaus () is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2020 population of 2,219,580 distributed over a land area of about . Located at the east center of the s ...
,
Natal
NATAL or Natal may refer to:
Places
* Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil
* Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa
** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843)
** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...
,
Recife
That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15)
, image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco
, pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
,
Rio de Janeiro–Galeão
Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil.
Rio or Río may also refer to:
Geography Brazil
* Rio de Janeiro
* Rio do Sul, a ...
,
Rio de Janeiro–Santos Dumont,
Salvador,
São Luís,
São Paulo–Congonhas,
São Paulo–Guarulhos,
Teresina
Teresina is the capital and most populous municipality in the Brazilian state of Piauí. Being located in north-central Piauí 366 km from the coast, it is the only capital in the Brazilian Northeast that is not located on the shores of the ...
and
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...
.
Services ended before closure
VASP once had a much more extensive network, which covered virtually every major Brazilian city with an airport and in the 1990s included such international destinations as:
Buenos Aires–Ezeiza,
Quito
Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...
,
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
New York–JFK,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
Toronto–Pearson,
Seoul–Gimpo,
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
,
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
,
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
,
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
,
Osaka–Kansai
Kansai International Airport ( ja, 関西国際空港, Kansai Kokusai Kūkō) commonly known as is the primary international airport in the Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and ...
,
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
and
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
.
Fleet
Fleet history
Over the years, the fleet of VASP consisted of the following aircraft:
[Fleet]
" (28 January 1999) ''VASP''. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
Fleet in 1970
VASPEX
![Boeing 727-264-Adv(F), VASPEX AN0198854](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Boeing_727-264-Adv%28F%29%2C_VASPEX_AN0198854.jpg)
VASPEX was the company's subsidiary for immediate dispatch of correspondence, documents and objects. It filed for bankruptcy, but ended up going bankrupt with VASP on September 4, 2008. It operated the Boeing 727 and 737-200 for almost all of Brazil. It was created to operate together with VASP delivering orders of the type.
VASPEX fleet
Accidents and incidents
Accidents
* 8 November 1940: a
Junkers Ju 52/3mg3e registration PP-SPF taking-off from
Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont to
São Paulo-Congonhas collided on mid-air with the
de Havilland Dragonfly
The de Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly is a 1930s British twin-engined luxury touring biplane built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company at Hatfield Aerodrome.
Development
The Dragonfly shares a clear family resemblance with the Dragon Rapide, but ...
registration LV-KAB belonging to the
Anglo Mexican Petroleum Company (Shell-Mex), which was preparing for a water-land in front of
Fluminense Yacht Club, today Rio de Janeiro Yacht Club in
Botafogo
Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...
. Both aircraft crashed killing all 14 passengers and 4 crew on the VASP aircraft and the pilot of the Shell-Mex aircraft.
* 27 August 1943: a
Junkers Ju 52/3mg3e registration PP-SPD flying from
São Paulo-Congonhas to
Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont struck a building of the
Naval Academy
A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers.
See also
* Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...
located close to the airport shortly after the second attempt to land at Rio under fog. The aircraft broke in two and one part fell in the water. Of the 21 passengers and crew, three survived.
* 13 December 1950: a
Douglas C-47A
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...
registration PP-SPT while on initial climb from
Londrina
Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and fourth largest in the southern regi ...
lost engine power, crashed and caught fire. There were 3 ground fatalities.
* 18 May 1951: a
Douglas C-47B
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft
A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military-owned transport aircraft used to su ...
registration PP-SPL en route from
Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo
Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and wit ...
to
Presidente Prudente hit high ground while flying in bad weather. All 6 passengers and crew died.
* 8 September 1951: a
Douglas C-47B
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft
A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military-owned transport aircraft used to su ...
registration PP-SPQ struck a house after take-off from
São Paulo-Congonhas and crashed. Thirteen passengers and crew and three persons on the ground died.
* 13 May 1952: a
Douglas C-47B
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft
A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military-owned transport aircraft used to su ...
registration PP-SPM operating a flight from
São Paulo-Congonhas to
Bauru
Bauru () is a Brazilian municipality in midwestern region of the state of São Paulo. It is the main city of the mesoregion and microregion of Bauru. The population is 379,297 (2020 est.) in an area of 667.68 km². Established in 1896, ...
lost control when carrying out an emergency landing following an engine failure. Two crew members and 3 passengers died.
* 30 December 1958: a
Saab Scandia 90A registration PP-SQE flying from
Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont to
São Paulo-Congonhas during climb after take-off had a failure on engine no. 1. The pilot initiated procedures to return to the airport but during the second turn the aircraft stalled and crashed into
Guanabara Bay
Guanabara Bay ( pt, Baía de Guanabara, ) is an oceanic bay located in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói and ...
. Of the 34 passengers and crew aboard, 20 died.
* 23 September 1959: a
Saab Scandia 90A registration PP-SQV en route from
São Paulo-Congonhas to
Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont during climb after take-off did not gain enough height and crashed minutes out of São Paulo, killing all 20 passengers and crew.
* 22 December 1959: a
Vickers Viscount 800 registration PP-SRG while on approach to land at
Rio de Janeiro-Galeão was involved in a mid-air collision with the
Brazilian Air Force
"Wings that protect the country"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = Hino dos Aviadores
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...
Fokker S-11 (T-21) serial number FAB0742 in the vicinity of
Manguinhos Airport
Manguinhos Airport was an airport that existed in the neighborhood of Manguinhos, near Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro from 1936 to 1972.
History
The origin of Manguinhos Airport is related to Aeroclube do Brasil ( en, Brazil Flying ...
. All 32 people on board the Viscount were killed, as were a further ten on the ground. The T-21 pilot parachuted to safety. This accident eventually led to the closure of Manguinhos Airport
* 26 November 1962: a
Saab Scandia 90A registration PP-SRA en route from
São Paulo-Congonhas to
Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont collided in the air over the Municipality of Paraibuna, State of São Paulo with a private
Cessna 310
The Cessna 310 is an American four-to-six-seat, low-wing, twin-engine monoplane produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engine aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II.
Development
The 310 first fle ...
registration PT-BRQ en route from
Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont to
São Paulo-Campo de Marte. Both were flying on the same
airway
The respiratory tract is the subdivision of the respiratory system involved with the process of respiration in mammals. The respiratory tract is lined with respiratory epithelium as respiratory mucosa.
Air is breathed in through the nose to th ...
AB-6 in opposite directions and failed to have visual contact. The aircraft crashed, killing all 23 passengers and crew of the Saab and four occupants of the Cessna.
* 4 September 1964: a
Vickers Viscount 701C registration PP-SRR operating flight 141 from
Vitória to
Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont collided with a mountain over the location of
Nova Friburgo
Nova Friburgo (, ger, Neufreiburg, , en, New Fribourg, commonly referred to as just "Friburgo") is a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro in southeastern Brazil. It is located in the mountainous region, in the Center Mesoregion of the stat ...
while flying away from the intended track. All 39 passengers and crew died.
* 3 March 1965: a
Vickers Viscount
The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner.
The Visc ...
registration PP-SRQ was damaged beyond economic repair at
Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport
Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil.
Rio or Río may also refer to:
Geography Brazil
* Rio de Janeiro
* Rio do Sul, a ...
when the aircraft departed the runway during a simulated engine failure on take-off.
* 31 October 1966: a
Vickers Viscount
The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner.
The Visc ...
registration PP-SRM was damaged beyond economic repair when it overran the runway at
Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont Airport
* 15 September 1968: a
Vickers Viscount
The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner.
The Visc ...
registration PP-SRE crashed at
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
while on a crew training flight. One of the two crew was killed.
* 11 January 1969: a
Douglas C-47A
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...
PP-SPR was damaged beyond economic repair at
Loanda, Paraná.
* 14 September 1969: a
Douglas C-47B
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft
A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military-owned transport aircraft used to su ...
registration PP-SPP operating flight 555 took off from
Londrina
Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and fourth largest in the southern regi ...
to
São Paulo-Congonhas but due to a feathered propeller, had to return to the origin. While on approach for landing, the aircraft made a sharp left turn and crashed. All 20 passengers and crew died.
* 12 April 1972: a
NAMC YS-11A
The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of ...
registration PP-SMI flying from
São Paulo-Congonhas to
Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont flew into the side of a mountain while on descent 50 km north of Rio de Janeiro due to pilot mistake. All 25 passengers and crew died.
* 29 January 1973: a
Douglas C-47
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...
PP-SQA crashed on landing at
Rondonópolis Airport.
* 15 May 1973: a
Vickers Viscount
The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner.
The Visc ...
PP-SRD was damaged beyond economic repair when it departed the runway on landing at
Salvador Airport and the undercarriage collapsed.
* 23 October 1973: a
NAMC YS-11A
The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of ...
registration PP-SMJ flying from
Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont to
Belo Horizonte-Pampulha during an aborted take-off overrun the runway and slid into
Guanabara Bay
Guanabara Bay ( pt, Baía de Guanabara, ) is an oceanic bay located in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói and ...
. Of the 65 passengers and crew, 8 passengers died.
* 27 February 1975: an
Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante
The Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (English: ''pioneer'') is a Brazilian general purpose 15–21 passenger twin-turboprop light transport aircraft designed by Embraer for military and civil use.
The EMB 110 was designed by the French engineer Max Ho ...
registration PP-SBE operating a flight 640 from
São Paulo-Congonhas to
Bauru
Bauru () is a Brazilian municipality in midwestern region of the state of São Paulo. It is the main city of the mesoregion and microregion of Bauru. The population is 379,297 (2020 est.) in an area of 667.68 km². Established in 1896, ...
and
Araçatuba crashed after take-off from Congonhas. All 2 crew members and 13 passengers died.
* 25 May 1982: a
Boeing 737-200
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...
registration PP-SMY on landing procedures at
Brasília
Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
during rain, made a hard landing with nose gear first. The gear collapsed and the aircraft skidded off the runway breaking in two. Two passengers out of 118 occupants died.
* 8 June 1982: a
Boeing 727-200
The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...
registration PP-SRK operating
flight 168 from
Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to
Fortaleza
Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...
collided with a mountain while on approach to Fortaleza. The captain descended below a minimum descent altitude. All 137 passengers and crew died.
* 28 January 1986:
VASP Flight 210
VASP Flight 210 was a domestic flight from Guarulhos to Belo Horizonte, Brazil operated by São Paulo-based VASP, Viação Aérea São Paulo (VASP). On 28 January 1986 it ran off the end of the taxiway from which it mistakenly tried to take off, a ...
flying from
São Paulo-Guarulhos to
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...
unknowingly tried to take-off from Guarulhos under foggy conditions from a taxiway. The take-off was aborted, but the aircraft overran, collided with a dyke and broke in two. One passenger died.
* 22 June 1992: a cargo
Boeing 737-200C
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...
registration PP-SND en route from
Rio Branco to
Cruzeiro do Sul crashed in the jungle while on arrival procedures to Cruzeiro do Sul. The crew of 2 and 1 occupant died.
Incidents
* 25 April 1970: a
Boeing 737-2A1 en route from
Brasília
Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
to
Manaus-Ponta Pelada was hijacked by a person who demanded to be flown to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. The hijack lasted a day.
* 14 May 1970: a
Boeing 737-2A1 en route from
Brasília
Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
to
Manaus-Ponta Pelada was hijacked by a person who demanded to be flown to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. The hijack lasted a day.
* 22 February 1975: a
Boeing 737-2A1 registration PP-SMU en route from
Goiânia
Goiânia (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region and the 10th-largest in the country. Its metropolitan area has a population ...
to
Brasília
Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
was hijacked by 1 person who demanded ransom. The hijacker was taken down.
* 29 September 1988: a
Boeing 737-300
The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft.
Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Febru ...
registration PP-SNT operating
flight 375 en route from
Porto Velho
Porto Velho (, ''Old Port'') is the capital of the Brazilian state of Rondônia, in the upper Amazon River basin, and a Catholic Metropolitan Archbishopric. The population is 548,952 people (as of the IBGE 2021 estimation). Located on the border ...
to
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
via
Brasília
Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
,
Goiânia
Goiânia (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region and the 10th-largest in the country. Its metropolitan area has a population ...
and
Belo Horizonte-Confins was hijacked by 1 person on the final leg of the flight. The hijacker wanted to force a crash on the
Palácio do Planalto
The Palácio do Planalto () in Brasília is the official workplace of the president of Brazil.[Brasília
Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...](_blank)
. The pilot convinced the hijacker to divert to Goiânia where an emergency landing was made. The hijack ended with 1 victim.
* 18 August 2000: a
Boeing 737-2A1 registration PP-SMG en route from
Foz do Iguaçu
Foz do Iguaçu (''Iguazu River Mouth'') () is the Brazilian city on the border of Iguaçu Falls. The city is the 7th largest in the state of Paraná. The city's population is approximately 258,000. It is approximately 650 km (400 mi) we ...
to
Curitiba-Afonso Pena and on to
Rio de Janeiro-Galeão,
Brasília
Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
, and
São Luís, was hijacked by 5 persons with the purpose of robbing BRL 5 million (approximately US$2.75 million) that the aircraft was transporting. The pilot was forced to land at
Porecatu
Porecatu is a city in the state of Paraná, Brazil, located at around , at the margins of the Paranapanema River. Its economy is mainly based on agriculture with the sugarcane being the most important product. As of 2020, the estimated populat ...
where the hijackers fled with the money. There were no victims.
See also
*
List of defunct airlines of Brazil
a. German trade company that operated airline services in Brazil while also providing aircraft, maintenance and aviation information.
See also
* List of airlines of Brazil
* Transportation in Brazil
References
{{List of defunct airl ...
References
External links
VASP accidents as per Aviation Safety Network (1998–2000)
Archive of VASP pages
VASPEX(Archive)
{{Airlines of Brazil
Defunct airlines of Brazil
Airlines established in 1933
Airlines disestablished in 2005