Rio de Janeiro – Belo Horizonte – Brasília

On December 22, 1962 at 01:00 AM, Rio de Janeiro – Belo Horizonte – Brasília experienced a crash involving Convair CV-240, operated by VARIG - Viação Aérea Rio Grandense, with the event recorded near Brasília Distrito Federal.

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

40 people were known to be on board, 1 fatalities were recorded, 39 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 2.5%.

Crew on board: 5, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 35, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. At 0054LT, the crew reported on approach to Brasília Airport at an altitude of 1,800 meters. He was instructed to report when inbound for runway 28 and was given the latest weather conditions. Initial approach was begun at 0056. At 0059 the flight reported it as on final approach. The tower gave it thelatest wind conditions, 330°, velocity 8-10 kt, and the aircraft was cleared to land. The message was acknowledged. Nothing further was heard from the flight. The tower controller saw a flash of light in the direction from which the aircraft was expected, however, he did not think anything abnormal had occurred. After a few unsuccessful calls, search and rescue services were alerted. The aircraft had struck trees and the ground 8,400 meters from the runway and continued over uneven ground for 300 meters. As the aircraft fell on its side, only the side exit facing upward would be used for evacuation. Because of the failure of normal lights and the fact that no flashlights were available, it was difficult to find the emergency exit. The captain was killed while the copilot was seriously injured.

Aircraft reference details include registration PP-VCQ, MSN 103, year of manufacture 1948.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately -15.8033°, -47.8855°.