Varig Flight 967 was an international cargo flight from

Narita International Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...

in Japan to

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 ...

in Brazil, with a stopover at

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

. On 30 January 1979, the

Boeing 707-323C The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first ...

serving the flight

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...

while en route. Neither the aircraft nor its six crew members have ever been found.

Background

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a

, construction number 19235, line number 519, delivered new to

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

and registered N7562A on 31 August 1966, and sold to Varig and delivered (as PP-VLU) on 28 March 1974. The jet was powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B engines.

Flight crew

The flight crew consisted of Captain Gilberto Araújo da Silva, 55, First Officer Erni Peixoto Mylius, 45, Second Officers Antonio Brasileiro da Silva Neto, 39, Evan Braga Saunders, 37, and Flight Engineers José Severino Gusmão de Araújo, 42, and Nicola Exposito, 40. In 1973, Captain Araújo da Silva was in charge of flight RG 820, a Boeing 707 carrying 134 people which crash-landed near

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Orly), commonly referred to as Orly , is one of two international airports serving the French capital, Paris, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly an ...

, in Paris, with 123 fatalities. In 1979, at the time of disappearance, he had more than 23,000 hours logged.

Disappearance

On 30 January 1979, the Boeing 707-323C registered PP-VLU disappeared en route from Narita International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport. Its ultimate destination was Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport. The

cargo aircraft A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of air cargo, cargo rather than passenger aircraft, passengers. Such aircraft usually ...

, operated by

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 i ...

, took off at 20:23 from Narita International Airport. Last radio contact with the flight was at 20:45. Flight crew was expected to radio at 21:23, but they did not do so. Radio contact was lost about ENE of Tokyo. Notably, the cargo included 53 paintings by

Manabu Mabe (September 14, 1924 – September 22, 1997) was a Japanese- Brazilian painter. Mabe worked as a vendor of hand-painted ties in São Paulo before becoming a famous artist. In the late 1950s, Mabe won the top award in São Paulo's Contemporary Ar ...

, returning from a Tokyo exhibition, valued at US$1.24 million. Neither the wreck nor the paintings were ever found.

References

{{coord missing, Japan Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 707 Aviation accidents and incidents in 1979

967 Year 967 ( CMLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Otto I (the Great) calls for a council at Rome, to present the ne ...

Missing aircraft Aviation accidents and incidents in Japan 1979 in Japan January 1979 events in Asia

Background

Aircraft

Flight crew

Disappearance

See also

Similar incidents

References