Total survivors 3 Registration 131582 Passengers 31 Summary Mid-air collision | Type Douglas R6D-1 (DC-6A) Flight origin Buenos Aires-Ezeiza Date 25 February 1960 Total fatalities 61 | |
Site Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Locations Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Guanabara Bay Destinations Galeão Air Force Base, Santos Dumont Airport Operators United States Navy, Real Transportes Aéreos Similar Scandinavian Airlines System Fl, Austrian Airlines Flight 901, Avianca Flight 671, Capital Airlines Flight 20, National Airlines Flight 2511 | ||
The 1960 Rio de Janeiro mid-air collision was an aerial collision between two aircraft over Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 25, 1960. In the crash, a United States Navy Douglas R6D-1 (DC-6A) (BuNo 131582) flying from Buenos Aires-Ezeiza to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão Air Force Base collided in the air over Guanabara Bay, close to the Sugarloaf Mountain with a Real Transportes Aéreos Douglas DC-3 registration PP-AXD operating flight 751 from Campos dos Goytacazes to Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont Airport. The crash occurred at 16:10 local time at an altitude of 1,600 meters (5,249 feet).
The US Navy aircraft was carrying members of the United States Navy Band to Brazil to perform at a diplomatic reception attended by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Of the 38 occupants of the American aircraft, 3 survived. All 26 passengers and crew of the Brazilian aircraft died. The probable causes of the accident are disputed but include human error, both air and ground, and faulty equipment.