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Varig Flight 254
PP-VMK, the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date
3 September 1989
Summary
Major navigational error resulting in fuel exhaustion
Site
Near São José do Xingu, Brazil 10°26′40.55″S52°39′26.90″W / 10.4445972°S 52.6574722°W / -10.4445972; -52.6574722
Aircraft
Aircraft type
Boeing 737-241
Operator
Varig
Registration
PP-VMK
Flight origin
São Paulo–Guarulhos Int'l Airport
1st stopover
Uberaba Airport
2nd stopover
Uberlândia Airport
3rd stopover
Goiânia–Santa Genoveva Airport
4th stopover
Brasília International Airport
5th stopover
Imperatriz Airport
6th stopover
Marabá Airport
Destination
Belém–Val de Cans Int'l Airport
Passengers
48
Crew
6
Fatalities
12
Injuries
34[1]
Survivors
42
Varig Flight 254 was a Boeing 737-241, c/n 21006/398,[2] registration PP-VMK,[3] on a scheduled passenger flight from São Paulo, Brazil, to Belém, capital city of the state of Pará in the country's North Region, on 3 September 1989. The flight had several intermediate stopovers, the last being in Marabá, Pará. Prior to takeoff from Marabá, the crew entered an incorrect heading into the flight computer, flying deep into a remote area of the Amazon jungle.[4][5] Attempts to reach an alternative airport were unsuccessful and the plane eventually ran out of fuel,[6] crashing during a belly landing in the jungle[7] 1,700 kilometres (920 nautical miles) northwest of Rio de Janeiro.[6] Of the 54 passengers and crew, 12 passengers died and many more sustained serious injuries.[2][8][9] The survivors were rescued two days later.[7]
^Gregg Newton (7 September 1989). "Varig Airlines Crash". Corbis. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
^ abAccident description at the Aviation Safety Network. Some English text, mostly Portuguese.
^"Registro Aeronáutico Brasileiro (PP-VMK)". Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil.
^Cite error: The named reference Disparition d'un Boeing brésilien en Amazonie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Bresil: L'accident d'un Boeing de la Varig Les rescapés de l'Amazonie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abCite error: The named reference Amazon crash survivors owe their lives to unemployed teen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abCite error: The named reference After Trek From Brazil Crash, Survivor Says 46 of 54 Live was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Final accident report was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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