TAM Brasil - Taxi Aéreo Marilia - Transportes Aéreos Regionais

Airbus A320

On 17 July 2007, at 17:19 local time (20:19 UTC), the Airbus aircraft, model A320, registration PR-MBK, operating as flight JJ3054, departed from Porto Alegre (SBPA) destined to Congonhas Airport (SBSP) in São Paulo city, São Paulo State. There were a total of 187 souls on board the aircraft, being six active crew members and 181 passengers, including 2 infants and 5 extra crew members (not on duty). The weather prevailing along the route and at the destination was adverse, and the crew had to make a few deviations. Up to the moment of the landing, the flight occurred within the expected routine. The aircraft was operating with the number 2 engine reverser de-activated, in accordance with the Minimum Equipment List (MEL). According to information provided to the TWR by crews that had landed earlier, the active runway at Congonhas (35L) was wet and slippery. During the landing, at 18:54 local time (21:54 UTC), the crew noticed that the ground spoilers had not deflected, and the aircraft, which was not slowing down as expected, veered to the left, overran the left edge of the runway near the departure end, crossed over the Washington Luís Avenue, and collided with a building in which the cargo express service of the very operator (TAM Express) functioned, and with a fuel service station. All the persons on board perished. The accident also caused 12 fatalities on the ground among the people that were in the TAM Express building. The aircraft was completely destroyed as a result of the impact and of the raging fire, which lasted for several hours. The accident caused severe damage to the convenience shop area of the service station and to some vehicles that were parked there. The TAM Express building sustained structural damages that determined its demolition. The aircraft was completely destroyed.

Fokker 100

The aircraft departed Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães Airport at 0846LT on a schedule service JJ3499 to São Paulo-Guarulhos Airport, carrying 33 passengers and five crew members. En route, while cruising at an altitude of 35,000 feet, the crew encountered technical problems with the primary hydraulic system. He contacted ATC and was cleared to divert to Campinas-Viracopos Airport for an emergency landing. On approach, the crew was unable to lower the undercarriage that remained blocked in their wheel well. The crew elected to lower the gear manually and several troubleshootings were unsuccessful. The decision was taken to complete a belly landing on runway 33. After touchdown, the aircraft slid for few dozen metres and eventually came to rest. All 38 occupants evacuated safely and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. It was later transferred to the TAM Museum.

Fokker 100

The aircraft departed São Paulo-Guarulhos Airport on a schedule flight (JJ3804) to Campo Grande, carrying 24 passengers and five crew members. Less than an hour into the flight, while cruising at FL350, the crew encountered technical problems with the fuel system, declared an emergency and was cleared to divert to Araçatuba Airport. On approach, at an altitude of 1,639 feet, both engines failed. The captain realized he could not reach Araçatuba Airport so he attempted an emergency landing in a prairie located 29,5 km from the airport. Upon landing, the aircraft lost its undercarriage, slid on the ground, killed a cow and came to rest. All 29 occupants evacuated, among them four were slightly injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Fokker F27 Friendship

Last January 9, the aircraft suffered a belly landing at Uberaba Airport while completing a local training flight. Following temporary repairs, it was decided to transfer the airplane to São Paulo for further controls. After the pressurization system was selected, the aircraft suffered additional damages to the fuselage and the crew was forced to return. The aircraft landed safely but was damaged beyond repair.

Fokker 100

TAM flight 402 was a regular flight between São Paulo (CGH) and Rio de Janeiro (SDU). At 08:25 the flight received clearance for takeoff from runway 17R. Wind was given as 060 degrees. At 08:26:00 the throttles were advanced for takeoff power. Ten seconds later a double beep was heard. The captain said "O auto-throttle tá fora" and the copilot adjusted the throttles manually and informed the captain: "thrust check". With this information he confirmed that the takeoff power had been adjusted and verified. At 08:26:19 the airplane accelerated through 80 kts. At 08:26:32 the copilot indicated "V one". Two seconds later the airplane rotated at a speed of 131 kts. At 08:26:36 the air/ground switch transited from "ground" "to "air". The speed was 136 kts and the airplane was climbing at an angle of 10 degrees. At that same moment a shock was felt and the EPR of engine no. 2 dropped from 1.69 to 1.34, indicating the loss of power. In fact, the no. 2 engine thrust reverser had deployed. An eye witness confirmed to have seen at least two complete cycles of opening and closing of the no. 2 thrust reverser buckets during the flight. The loss of power on the right side caused the plane to roll to the right. The captain applied left rudder and left aileron to counteract the movement of the plane. The copilot advanced both thrust levers, but they retarded again almost immediately, causing the power of the no. 1 engine to drop to 1.328 EPR and engine no. 2 to 1,133 EPR. Both crew members were preoccupied by the movement of the throttles and did not know that the thrust reverser on the no. 2 engine had deployed. The throttles were forced forward again. At 08:26:44 the captain ordered the autothrottle to be disengaged. One second later the no. 2 thrust lever retarded again and remained at idle for two seconds. The airspeed fell to 126 kts. At 08:26:48 the copilot announced that he had disengaged the autothrottles. He then jammed the no. 2 thrust lever fully forward again. Both engines now reached 1,724 EPR. With the thrust reverser deployed, the airspeed declined at 2 kts per second. At 08:26:55 the stick shaker activated, warning of an impeding stall. The airplane rolled to a 39 degree bank angle and the GPWS activated: "Don't sink!". Seven seconds later the airplane impacted a building and crashed into a heavily populated neighborhood.

Cessna 208A Caravan

While in cruising altitude on a flight from Gurupi to São Felix do Araguaia, the crew was hijacked by four of the six passengers. Two of the hijackers took over controls and landed on a small airstrip located in Fazenda Uirapuru near Sinop. On ground, both pilots and two passengers disembarked and the four hijackers took off immediately. Few seconds after take off, the aircraft encountered difficulties to gain height, struck a tree and crashed in a ravine located 30 km from Sinop. All four hijackers disappeared and were not recovered. The aircraft was destroyed.

Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante

About 42 minutes after takeoff from Cuiabá Airport, while cruising at 10,000 feet, the captain obtained the permission to reduce his altitude to 8,000 feet to avoid a low pressure area with thunderstorm activity and heavy rain falls. Few seconds later, the twin engine aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in an open field located in Tangará da Serra. All four passengers and both pilots were killed. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact.

Cessna 550 Citation II

The aircraft departed São Paulo-Congonhas Airport for a local training flight, carrying two pilots under supervision and two instructors. Weather conditions were marginal with ceiling down to 300 metres, horizontal visibility 3 km with rain. After touchdown on wet runway 17R, the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran, went down an embankment and came to rest. All four occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed.

Fokker F27 Friendship

The aircraft departed São Paulo-Congonhas Airport on a domestic schedule flight to Araçatuba with an intermediate stop in Bauru. The pilot-in-command was a captain under training, accompanied by an instructor and a third pilot. Because the Brasilia ARTCC frequency was congested, the crew was cleared to initiate the descent from FL140 at a distance of 50 km from Bauru Airport instead of the standard 74 km. This caused the aircraft to approach at an excessive speed and as the captain estimated the situation as unsafe, he prefered to initiate a go-around but the instructor decided to continue. Due to a lack of coordination between the captain and the instructor, it was not clear who would perform the landing but finally, the instructor took over control. Following a rate of descent of 2,500 feet per minute, the aircraft landed at a speed of 130 knots some 775 meters past the runway 32 threshold. After touchdown, the aircraft floated, causing the left and right main gear to land alternatingly. The instructor realized that he would not be able to stop the aircraft within the remaining distance so he decided to initiate a go-around procedure and added full power. As this was against the published procedure and due to a lack of sufficient air in the engine in combination with a high angle of attack, the aircraft stalled after the engine failed to develop enough power. The aircraft crashed 600 meters past the runway end, struck vehicles and houses and came to rest in flames. One of the pilot and two people in car were killed. All other occupants were rescued, among them three were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

Cessna 550 Citation II

Following a wrong approach configuration, the aircraft descended too high on the glide and landed too far down a wet runway. After touchdown, unable to stop within the remaining distance (insufficient distance available and poor braking action due to a wet runway surface), the aircraft overran and collided with a dyke. All seven occupants were rescued while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante

The twin engine airplane departed Rio de Janeiro-Galeão Airport on a charter flight to Macaé, carrying 16 journalists from four different Brazilian TV's who were invited by Petrobras to visit an offshore oil platform. While descending to Macaé Airport in poor weather conditions, the crew decided to continue under VFR mode when the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Morro São João (600 meters high) located about 34 km southwest of runway 06 threshold. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact and all 18 occupants were killed.

Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante

On approach to Araçatuba Airport runway 22 under IFR mode, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with limited visibility due to heavy rain falls. A first approach was abandoned and a second few minutes later. During a third attempt to land, the crew decided to switch to VFR mode and descended too low when, while completing a last turn, the aircraft struck the ground and crashed few hundred meters short of runway 22 threshold. Both pilots and five passengers were killed while eight other occupants were injured.

Learjet 25

The aircraft was completing a taxi flight from Araxá to Brasilia with an intermediate stop in Uberaba. After touchdown on runway 17, the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran, went through a fence, crossed a road and came to rest in a ditch. All 10 occupants were injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante

The twin engine airplane departed Bauru Airport at 1930LT on a schedule flight to São Paulo. Ten minutes later, the crew encountered an unexpected situation and lost control of the airplane that entered a dive and crashed in a huge explosion in a pine forest located in Agudos. The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 18 occupants were killed.

Learjet 25

During the takeoff roll on a wet runway 34, the left engine failed. The crew abandoned the takeoff procedure and started an emergency braking procedure. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the aircraft overran, went down an embankment, lost its undercarriage and came to rest few dozen meters further. All six occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damage beyond repair. All four passengers were members of the Brazilian government, among them secretary of finances.

Learjet 25

While descending to Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont, the airplane crashed in unknown circumstances into the Guanabara Bay. All five occupants were rescued while the aircraft sank and was lost.