Varig Flight 967 was an international cargo flight from

Narita International Airport , also known as Tokyo-Narita International Airport or simply Narita Airport, formerly and originally known as , is the secondary international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the only other one being Haneda Airport (HND). It is about e ...

in Japan to

Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

in Brazil, with a stopover at

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles and its Greater Los Angeles, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of California. LAX is located in the Westchester, Los Angeles, Westcheste ...

in the United States. On 30 January 1979, the Boeing 707-323C serving the flight

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the intent of placing ...

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

Background

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 707-323C, construction number 19235, line number 519, delivered new to

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

and registered N7562A on 31 August 1966. The aircraft was operated under its cargo subsidiary before being sold to Varig Cargo on 28 March 1974 and re-registered as PP-VLU. 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 the Captain of

Varig Flight 820 Varig Flight 820 was a flight of the Brazilian airline Varig that departed from Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 11 July 1973, for Orly Airport, in Paris, France. The plane, a Boeing 707, registration PP-VJZ, made an e ...

, a Boeing 707 carrying 134 people that made an emergency landing due to a fire before it was due to land at

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (, ) is one of two international airports serving Paris, France, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris. It serves as a sec ...

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

Disappearance

On 30 January 1979, PP-VLU disappeared en route from Narita International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport while operating as Varig Flight 967. Its ultimate destination was Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport. The flight took off at 20:23 from Narita International Airport. The last radio contact with the flight was at 20:45. The flight crew were expected to radio at 21:23, but they did not do so. Radio contact was lost about ENE of Tokyo. 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 an artist. In the late 1950s, Mabe won the top award in São Paulo's Contemporary Art Salon, ...

returning from an exhibition in Tokyo, valued at US$1.24 million. The wreckage, paintings, and bodies of the crew were never 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 of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Otto I (the Great) calls for a council at Rome, to present the new government under Pope John XIII. He ...

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

Background

Aircraft

Flight crew

Disappearance

See also

Similar incidents

References