São Paulo – Rio de Janeiro – Paris

On July 11, 1973 at 02:03 PM, São Paulo – Rio de Janeiro – Paris experienced a crash involving Boeing 707, operated by VARIG - Viação Aérea Rio Grandense, with the event recorded near Paris-Orly Val-de-Marne.

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.

134 people were known to be on board, 123 fatalities were recorded, 11 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 91.8%.

Crew on board: 17, crew fatalities: 7, passengers on board: 117, passenger fatalities: 116, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. The airplane departed Rio de Janeiro-Galeão Airport at 0303LT on flight RG820 to Paris-Orly Airport. The en route part of the flight was uneventful. At 13:57 the aircraft had descended to FL80 and contacted Orly approach, who told the crew to maintain FL80 and head to the OLS VOR which would take the aircraft to the downwind leg of runway 26. At 13:58:20 the flight crew contacted Orly approach and reported a "problem with fire on board". An emergency descent was requested. At 13:59 clearance was given to descend to 3000 feet for a runway 07 landing, making a straight-in approach possible. While the situation on board was getting worse (smoke entering the cockpit and passengers becoming asphyxiated), a clearance to descend to 2000 feet was given at 14:01:10. The flight crew put on oxygen masks as smoke was making it impossible to read the instruments. At 14:03 the pilot decided to make an emergency landing 5 km short of the runway with gear down and flaps at 80°. The Boeing approached with considerable nose-up attitude, in a slight left bank. The aircraft truncated some small trees and made a heavy landing on a field. Both main gears collapsed and the engines were torn off in the subsequent skid. The fuselage however, remained intact. Ten occupants (all crew members) evacuated the aircraft. By the time the firemen arrived (6-7 minutes later) the fire had burned through the roof and there was no sign of life. Of the four unconscious occupants the firemen could evacuate, only one survived.

Aircraft reference details include registration PP-VJZ, MSN 19841, year of manufacture 1968.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 48.7477°, 2.3556°.