 A Varig Douglas DC-8-33, similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 5 March 1967 (1967-03-05) |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain caused by pilot error |
| Site | Roberts International Airport, Harbel, Liberia 6°12′25″N 10°22′44″W / 6.207°N 10.37897°W / 6.207; -10.37897 |
| Total fatalities | 56 (5 ground fatalities) |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-8-33 |
| Operator | Varig |
| Registration | PP-PEA |
| Flight origin | Beirut International Airport, Beirut, Lebanon |
| 1st stopover | Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Italy |
| 2nd stopover | Roberts International Airport, Monrovia, Liberia |
| Destination | Galeão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Passengers | 71 |
| Crew | 19 |
| Fatalities | 51 |
| Survivors | 39 |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 5 |
Varig Flight 837 was a flight from Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Italy to Galeão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, originating in Beirut, Lebanon, and with a stop in Monrovia, Liberia. On 5 March 1967, due to pilot error, the flight crashed during approach to Runway 04 of Roberts International Airport. Of the 71 passengers and 19 crew on board, 50 passengers and the flight engineer perished. In addition, 5 people on the ground were also killed. The aircraft caught fire and was written off. This is the worst aviation accident in Liberia to this day.
Investigators determined the probable cause of the crash to be "The failure of the pilot-in-command to arrest in time the fast descent at a low altitude upon which he had erroneously decided, instead of executing a missed approach when he found himself too high over the locator beacon."
References
- "GI survives plane crash fatal to 56". Telegraph-Herald. Dubuque, Iowa. Associated Press. 5 March 1967. p. 15.
- "Liberia accident history at Aviation Safety Network". Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- da Silva, Germano; Ari César, Carlos (2008). "Armadilha na aproximação" [Trap on approach]. O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 [The witch's trail: history of Brazilian commercial aviation in the 20th century through its accidents 1928–1996] (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 249–255. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
- "Accident description at Aviation Safety Network". Retrieved 14 January 2010.
External links
| Aviation accidents and incidents in 1967 (1967) | |
|---|---|
| Jan 14 Aeroflot Flight 5003Feb 16 Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 708Feb 28 Philippine Air Lines Flight 345Mar 5 Lake Central Airlines Flight 527Mar 5 Varig Flight 837Mar 9 TWA Flight 553Mar 10 West Coast Airlines Flight 720Mar 13 South African Airways Flight 406Mar 30 Delta Air Lines Flight 9877Apr 11 Air Algérie DC-4 crashApr 20 Nicosia Globe Air Bristol Britannia crashJun 3 Air Ferry DC-4 accidentJun 4 Stockport air disasterJun 23 Mohawk Airlines Flight 40Jun 30 Thai Airways International Flight 601Jul 6 Philippine Air Lines Flight 385Jul 19 Piedmont Airlines Flight 22Aug 27 Lake Erie skydiving disasterSep 5 ČSA Flight 523Oct 12 Cyprus Airways Flight 284Nov 4 Iberia Flight 062Nov 6 TWA Flight 159Nov 15 X-15 Flight 3-65-97Nov 16 Aeroflot Flight 2230Nov 20 TWA Flight 128Dec 8 Faucett Perú Douglas C-54 crashDec 30 Aeroflot Flight L-51 | |
| 1966 ◄ ► 1968 |
| Varig | |
|---|---|
| Subsidiaries | |
| Accidents and incidents |
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| Related | |
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