 PP-VLU, the missing aircraft, in March 1978 | |
| Incident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 30 January 1979 |
| Summary | Disappearance; cause unknown |
| Site | Pacific Ocean, 200 km (110 nmi; 120 mi) ENE of Tokyo, Japan |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 707-323C |
| Operator | Varig |
| IATA flight No. | RG967 |
| ICAO flight No. | VRG967 |
| Call sign | VARIG 967 |
| Registration | PP-VLU |
| Flight origin | Narita International Airport, Tokyo, Japan |
| Stopover | Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, US |
| Destination | Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Occupants | 6 |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Missing | 6 |
| Survivors | 0 (presumed) |
Varig Flight 967 was an international cargo flight from Narita International Airport in Japan to Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport in Brazil, with a stopover at Los Angeles International Airport in the United States. On 30 January 1979, the Boeing 707-323C serving the flight disappeared 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 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, a Boeing 707 carrying 134 people that crashed before it was due to land at Orly Airport 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 200 km (120 mi) ENE of Tokyo.
The cargo included 53 paintings by Manabu Mabe returning from an exhibition in Tokyo, valued at US$1.24 million. The wreckage, paintings, and bodies of the crew were never found.
See also
Similar incidents
- 1948 Airborne Transport DC-3 (DST) disappearance
- 1951 Canadian Pacific Air Lines Douglas DC-4 disappearance
- 1953 Skyways Avro York disappearance
- 1990 Faucett Perú Boeing 727 disappearance
- 2003 Angola Boeing 727 disappearance
- BSAA Star Ariel disappearance
- BSAA Star Tiger disappearance
- Flying Tiger Line Flight 739
- Hawaii Clipper
- Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
- Flight 19
References
- "Boeing 707-323C - Varig Cargo". airliners.net.
- ^ "Aircraft construction & line number". airframes.org. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- "Aircraft data". airframes.org. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- "Background description of the Boeing 707 family". boeing.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "Especial Gilberto Araújo: Nascido para voar" [Special Gilberto Araújo: Born to fly]. gilbertoaraujodasilva.sertaopb.com (in Portuguese). 16 August 2009. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- "Flight RG 820 accident description". aviation-safety.net. Archived from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 20 July 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- Ramalhoso, Wellington (3 November 2014). "Boeing da Varig desapareceu há 35 anos e jamais foi encontrado" [Varig Boeing disappeared 35 years ago and was never found]. UOL Notícias - Internacional (in Portuguese). Universo Online. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
| Varig | |
|---|---|
| Subsidiaries | |
| Accidents and incidents |
|
| Related | |
| Aviation accidents and incidents in 1979 (1979) | |
|---|---|
| Jan 30 Varig Flight 967Feb 12 Air Rhodesia Flight 827Feb 17 Air New Zealand Flight 4374Mar 14 Alia Flight 600Mar 17 Aeroflot Flight 1691Mar 26 Interflug Ilyushin Il-18 crashMar 29 Quebecair Flight 255Apr 4 TWA Flight 841Apr 23 SAETA Flight 011May 25 American Airlines Flight 191May 30 Downeast Airlines Flight 46Jun 17 Air New England Flight 248Jun 20 American Airlines Flight 293Jul 11 Garuda Fokker F28 crashJul 26 Lufthansa Cargo Flight 527Jul 31 Dan-Air Flight 0034Aug 11 Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collisionAug 29 Aeroflot Flight 5484Sep 14 Aero Trasporti Italiani Flight 12Oct 7 Swissair Flight 316Oct 31 Western Airlines Flight 2605Nov 11 Manises UFO incidentNov 15 American Airlines Flight 444Nov 26 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740Nov 28 Air New Zealand Flight 901Dec 18 Mosfellsheiði air crashesDec 23 Turkish Airlines Ankara crash | |
| 1978 ◄ ► 1980 |
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