Summary In-flight fire Passengers 117 Fatalities 123 Date 11 July 1973 Injuries (nonfatal) 11 | Crew 17 Survivors 11 Number of deaths 123 | |
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Similar Varig Flight 967, Kano air disaster, Pan Am Flight 816, Aeroflot Flight 3932, 1973 Nantes mid‑air co | ||
Varig flight 820
Varig Flight 820 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Galeão Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Orly Airport, Paris, France. On 11 July 1973, the Boeing 707 made an emergency landing in a field in Saulx-les-Chartreux, a commune located about 5 km south of the destination airport, due to smoke in the cabin. The fire, smoke, and crash at the final part of the landing resulted in 123 deaths, with 11 survivors (10 crew, 1 passenger).
Contents
Crash
Flight 820's problems began when a fire started in a rear lavatory. Crew members moved to the front of the airplane toward the emergency exit, as many passengers in the body of the plane inhaled smoke. Prior to the forced landing, many of the passengers had already died of smoke inhalation. The aircraft landed at a field 5 km short of the runway, in a full-flap and gear down configuration.
Only one passenger survived, while the major part of the crew left the plane by the emergency exit at the top of the cockpit. The captain of this flight, Gilberto Araujo da Silva, disappeared 30 January 1979 while flying Varig Cargo Boeing 707 PP-VLU over the Pacific Ocean.
A possible cause of the fire was that the lavatory waste bin contents caught fire after a still lit cigarette was thrown into it, the FAA issued AD 74-08-09 requiring "installation of placards prohibiting smoking in the lavatory and disposal of cigarettes in the lavatory waste receptacles; establishment of a procedure to announce to airplane occupants that smoking is prohibited in the lavatories; installation of ashtrays at certain locations; and repetitive inspections to ensure that lavatory waste receptacle doors operate correctly".
In 1979, Captain Araújo da Silva was in charge of Varig Flight 967, a Boeing 707-323C cargo jet carrying 6 crew members. It disappeared during a flight on January 30, 1979.
Passengers
Most of the passengers on the aircraft were Brazilian. The only survivors were in the cockpit and the first several rows of seats. Of the 11 survivors, 10 were members of the crew.
Notable passengers who died included:
