Transbrasil Flight 303

Transbrasil Flight 303

The Boeing 727-100 involved in April 1979
Accident
Date	April 12, 1980 (1980-04-12)
Summary	Pilot error followed by controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)
Site	Morro da Virgínia, near Hercílio Luz International Airport, Florianópolis, Brazil
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 727-27C
Operator	Transbrasil
Registration	PT-TYS
Flight origin	Congonhas-São Paulo Airport, São Paulo, Brazil
Destination	Hercílio Luz International Airport, Florianópolis, Brazil
Passengers	50
Crew	8
Fatalities	55
Injuries	3
Survivors	3

Transbrasil Flight 303 was a flight from Congonhas-São Paulo Airport in São Paulo, Brazil, to Hercílio Luz International Airport in Florianópolis, Brazil, on April 12, 1980. It crashed on approach to Hercílio Luz International Airport. Only three of the 58 people on board survived.^[1][2]

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 727-27C, registration PT-TYS. It had first flown on August 14, 1966. It was delivered to Braniff Airways, which leased it to Transbrasil in 1975, and sold it to Transbrasil in 1976.

Crash

The aircraft was on a night instrument approach to Hercílio Luz International Airport in a severe thunderstorm when it went off course, struck the hill Morro da Virgínia, and exploded. Probable causes were misjudgment of speed and distance, inadequate flight supervision, failure to initiate a go-around, and improper operation of the engines.

References

1. "Accident description PT-TYS". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 19 March 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
2. Ari César, Carlos; da Silva, Germano (2008). "Transbrasil 303". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928-1996 [The witch trail: history of Brazilian commercial aviation in the 20th century through its accidents 1928-1996] (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 313–317. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.