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). It operated until 1962 when it was incorporated into

VASP 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 in São Paulo, Brazil. It had main bases at São Paulo's two ...

History

On December 22, 1947, Ruy Vacani founded the airline TCA – Transportes Carga Aérea S.A. in

Anápolis Anápolis (, ) is a Brazilian city in the State of Goiás. It is located between two capitals, the federal capital Brasília and state capital Goiânia. It is the third most populous city in the state, with 391,772 inhabitants according to an es ...

, State of

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goi ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, an airline specialized in transportation of cargo. Previously, in 1928, Vacani had also founded ETA - Empresa de Transporte Aéreo an airline that lasted for only for one year, being sold to

NYRBA do Brasil Panair do Brasil was an airline of Brazil. Between 1945 and 1965 it was considered to be the largest carrier not only in Brazil but in all of Latin America. It ceased operations in 1965. History NYRBA do Brasil (1929–1930) ''Panair do Bras ...

. Vacani had good political connections with the then president

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...

, who apparently favored his business. Shareholders of the airline also included Roberto Taves, one of the founders of

Aerovias Brasil Empresa de Transportes Aéreos Aerovias Brasil S/A was a Brazilian airline founded in 1942. It was merged into Varig in 1961, when Varig bought the Consórcio Real-Aerovias-Nacional, of which Aerovias Brasil was one of the partners. History Aero ...

and Colonel Marcílio Jacques Gibson who in 1976 founded TABA – Transportes Aéreos da Bacia Amazônica. On August 24, 1949, TCA had its name changed to Lóide Aéreo Nacional and started regular passenger flights using Curtiss C-46 Commando aircraft, flying from

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 ...

to São Luís or Fortaleza with intermediate stops. Its operations later grew to include the whole Brazilian territory. In 1951 Lóide Aéreo Nacional incorporated the airlines, Linhas Aéreas Paulistas – LAP and TABA – Transportes Aéreos Bandeirantes, and in 1961 NAB – Navegação Aérea Brasileira. Between 1956 and 1958 Lóide Aéreo Nacional and

Panair do Brasil Panair do Brasil was an airline of Brazil. Between 1945 and 1965 it was considered to be the largest carrier not only in Brazil but in all of Latin America. It ceased operations in 1965. History NYRBA do Brasil (1929–1930) ''Panair do Bras ...

had an agreement to avoid harmful competition, in which the Brazilian territory was divided into areas of influence. It also included leasing of aircraft. Business started to decline in 1960 and finally, in 1962 Lóide Aéreo Nacional was sold and merged into

Destinations

In January 1956, the network of Lóide Aéreo Nacional comprised 22 locations .

Fleet

Accidents and incidents

Accidents involving fatalities *12 July 1951: a Douglas DC-3/C-47 registration PP-LPG, still registered under Linhas Aéreas Paulistas – LAP, flying from

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 ...

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 rep ...

, after aborting a landing in adverse conditions in Aracaju, overflew the runway and initiated a turn in low altitude to the right. The aircraft crashed during this turn. All 33 passengers and crew died, including the Governor of the state of

Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", re ...

Jerônimo Dix-sept Rosado Maia. *29 July 1951: a Curtiss C-46A-10-CU Commando registration CB-39, flying from

Cochabamba Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 630 ...

, probably operating a delivery ferry-flight still bearing the Bolivian registration number, crashed upon take-off. All 7 occupants died. *24 May 1952: a Curtiss C-46D-15-CU Commando registration PP-LDE, during take-off from Manaus-Ponta Pelada stalled when trying to return to the airport following an engine failure. It crashed into the Rio Negro. The 6 occupants died. *1 February 1958: a

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1 ...

registration PP-LEM operating the night flight 730 to Fortaleza, during takeoff from Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont experienced a failure on engine no. 4. Takeoff was aborted and 100m before the end of the runway, a tire from the landing gear burst, causing the aircraft to run off the side of the runway and burst into flames. Of the 72 passengers and crew aboard, 5 died. *11 August 1958: a

registration PP-LEQ crashed for unknown causes over Carapí Island,

Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana ...

while on a night time visual approach to Belém-Val de Cans. Of the 11 passengers and crew aboard, 1 passenger survived. *5 September 1958: a Curtiss C-46D-15-CU Commando registration PP-LDX operating flight 652 from

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 ...

crashed during approach to Campina Grande Airport. Of a total of 18 people aboard, 2 crew members and 11 passengers died.

References

External links