imported>JJMC89 bot III: Moving :Category:January 1987 events in Africa to :Category:January 1987 in Africa per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy

2025-02-04T06:32:35Z

Moving Category:January 1987 events in Africa to Category:January 1987 in Africa per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy

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{{Short description|1987 aviation accident}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| name = Varig Flight 797
| image = Varig Boeing 707-320C PP-VJK ZRH Sep 1982.png
| image_upright = 1.15
| alt =
| caption = PP-VJK, the aircraft involved in the accident
| occurrence_type = Accident
| date = 3 January 1987
| type = Crashed while landing due to engine failure
| site = [[Akouré]], [[Ivory Coast]]
| coordinates =
| aircraft_type = [[Boeing 707|Boeing 707-320C]]
| operator = [[Varig]]
| plane1_IATA = RG797
| plane1_ICAO = VRG797
| plane1_callsign = VARIG 797
| tail_number = {{airreg|PP|VJK}}
| origin = [[Port Bouet Airport]], [[Abidjan]], Ivory Coast
| destination = [[Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport]], [[Rio de Janeiro (city)|Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil
| passengers = 39
| crew = 12
| occupants = 51
| fatalities = 50
| injuries = 1
| survivors = 1
}}
'''Varig Flight 797''' was a flight from [[Abidjan]], [[Ivory Coast]] to [[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil. On 3 January 1987, the [[Boeing 707-320C]] crashed while landing, killing all 12 crew members and 38 of the 39 passengers.<ref name="Avsaf">{{cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 707-379C PP-VJK Abidjan-Felix Houphouet Boigny Airport (ABJ)|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19870103-0|access-date=3 December 2018|website=aviation-safety.net|publisher=[[Aviation Safety Network]]}}</ref> After an engine failure, the pilot decided to return but misjudged the approach and stalled the aircraft. It crashed onto a rubber plantation in the midst of the jungle, {{Convert|18|km|mi nmi}} from the airport at a speed of {{Convert|400|km/h|kn mph}}. Many passengers who survived the initial crash died in the fire that followed.

== Background ==

=== Aircraft ===
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 707-379C, [[Aircraft registration|registered]] as PP-VJK, that [[Maiden flight|first flew]] in 1968. It was powered by four [[Pratt & Whitney JT3D|Pratt & Witney JT3D-3B]] turbofan engines. PP-VJK was Varig's final passenger Boeing 707, and the aircraft's final flight with Varig, having already been sold to the [[Brazilian Air Force]].<ref name="Avsaf" />

=== Crew ===
The flight crew consisted of [[Aircraft registration|Captain]] Júlio César Carneiro Corrêa (38), [[First officer (aviation)|First Officer]] Nélson Figueiredo, and [[Flight engineer|Flight Engineer]] Eugênio Cardoso.<ref name="m2" />

== Accident ==
On 2 January, during the aircraft's penultimate flight to Abidjan, the fire alarm for the outer left (No. 1) engine sounded. Another airline, Air Afrique, which performed maintenance for Varig, inspected the engine and determined that it was a false alarm. In the early morning hours of darkness on 3 January, the aircraft departed [[Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport|Port Bouet Airport]] in Abidjan. 20 minutes after departure and {{Convert|200|km|mi nmi}} from Abidjan, the fire alarm for the no. 1 engine sounded a second time. Flight engineer Cardoso reported high fuel temperatures in the engine, but the other engines were functioning normally. As a precaution, captain Corrêa shut down the faulty engine and decided to return to Abidjan.<ref name="m2">{{Cite web|last=Gianfranco|first=Beting|title=Blackbox - "RG 797: tragédia em Abidjan"|trans-title=Blackbox - "RG 797: tragedy in Abidjan"|url=http://www.jetsite.com.br/2008_v35/AcidenteBlackbox.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502010730/http://jetsite.com.br/2008_v35/AcidenteBlackbox.aspx|archive-date=2012-05-02|access-date=20 November 2011|publisher=Jetsite|language=pt}}</ref>

Cardoso then reported a fuel leak on engine no 1, though the crew had difficulty identifying it. A flight attendant reported that a passenger had observed engine no. 1 emitting fire. As the aircraft flew over Abidjan, the tower controller at Port Bouet Airport cleared the flight to land on runway 03, the closest available runway. Even though the weather was suitable for a visual approach, captain Corrêa requested to land on runway 21 instead, as it was equipped with an instrument landing system (ILS). However, this approach required additional maneuvers, including a left turn onto a 270 degree heading. The crew (possibly in an attempted to prevent asymmetric thrust) decided to delay extending the [[Flap (aeronautics)|flaps]] and the [[landing gear]] until turning past the [[VHF omnidirectional range]]. With the flaps retracted, the aircraft flew faster to prevent a stall.<ref name="m2" />

During the turn, the stick shaker (stall warning) was activated and the ground proximity warning system emitted several "bank angle" warnings. The aircraft rolled 90 degrees to the left, stalled, and crashed on a rubber plantation in the midst of the jungle {{Convert|18|km|mi nmi}} from the airport at a speed of {{Convert|400|km/h|mph}}.<ref name="m2" /><ref name="Toll">{{Cite news|last=|date=7 January 1987|title=Death of Briton Brings Toll To 50 in Abidjan Plane Crash|work=The New York Times|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/07/world/death-of-briton-brings-toll-to-50-in-abidjan-plane-crash.html|access-date=31 January 2009|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="AIRKRANE">{{Cite web|title=AIRKRANE - Aviação e Espaço - Aviation and Space News: RG 797: tragédia em Abidjan|trans-title=AIRKRANE - Aviation and Space News: RG 797: tragedy in Abidjan|url=http://avisimair.blogspot.com/2009/05/rg-797-tragedia-em-abidjan.html|access-date=2019-05-31|website=AIRKRANE - Aviação e Espaço - Aviation and Space News|language=pt}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=César|first1=Carlos Ari|title=O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996|last2=da Silva|first2=Germano|publisher=EDIPUCRS|year=2008|isbn=978-85-7430-760-2|edition=2|place=Porto Alegre|pages=345–351|language=pt|trans-title=The witch trail: history of Brazilian commercial aviation in the 20th century through its accidents 1928-1996|chapter=Na escuridão da noite africana}}</ref><ref name="latimes">{{Cite news|last=|date=4 January 1987|title=Jetliner Crashes in W. Africa; 49 Killed, 2 Survive|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-01-04-mn-2065-story.html|access-date=7 August 2014}}</ref>

== Victims ==
Nationalities of the persons on board:<ref name="latimes" />
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="1" |Nationality
! colspan="1" |Passengers
! colspan="1" |Crew
! colspan="1" |Total
|- style="background:#ccccff;"
|- valign="top"
|Brazil
|10
|12
|22
|- valign="top"
|Israel
|2
|0
|2
|- valign="top"
|Côte d'Ivoire
|13
|0
|13
|- valign="top"
|Lebanon
|3
|0
|3
|- valign="top"
|France
|2
|0
|2
|- valign="top"
|West Germany
|2
|0
|2
|- valign="top"
|Senegal
|2
|0
|2
|- valign="top"
|United States
|1
|0
|1
|- valign="top"
|United Kingdom
|1
|0
|1
|- valign="top"
|Peru
|1
|0
|1
|- valign="top"
|Chile
|1
|0
|1
|- valign="top"
|Cameroon
|1
|0
|1
|- valign="top"
|'''Total'''
|'''39'''
|'''12'''
|'''51'''
|}
Three people (all passengers) initially survived, though one died several hours later. Four days after the disaster, a British passenger died of his injuries on board a Swiss aircraft while arriving in Paris; he was going to be transferred to a burn unit in a Paris suburb.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Agusti|first=Judy|date=1987-01-06|title=British survivor of plane crash dies|url=https://apnews.com/0725163276fd693dbec047cb9b4a6d3d|access-date=2015-11-11|publisher=Associated Press}}</ref> The sole survivor, identified as an Ivorian university professor, had burns on less than 20 percent of his body.<ref name="Survivor">{{Cite news|last=Everett|first=Richard|date=6 January 1987|title=Varig 707 in Ivory Coast Crash Said to Have Had Earlier Troubles|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/01/06/varig-707-in-ivory-coast-crash-said-to-have-had-earlier-troubles/a1bf39fc-1de4-4e01-b1a2-f778f55e3542/|access-date=13 February 2009|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> While being interviewed by investigators, the professor said that more people had survived the initial impact but died of burns.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Everett|first=Richard|date=1987-01-07|title=Probe cause of Ivory Coast crash; say many have survived impact to die in blaze|url=https://apnews.com/c888f46384db47b1c9be0139b5ba787e|access-date=2015-11-11|publisher=Associated Press}}</ref> He also stated that he managed to drag the British passenger who initially survived, away from the wreckage of the aircraft.<ref name="nytimes.com.Yessoh">{{cite news |date= 5 January 1987|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/05/world/no-hope-for-more-survivors-in-africa-crash.html|title = 'No Hope' for more survivors of African crash |newspaper = The New York Times| access-date = 15 May 2010 | last=Brooke| first=James }}</ref> The sole survivor died of a heart attack on 4 March 2015 at the age of 72.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Deuil: Neuba Yessoh, le seul rescapé du crash d'avion à Alépé en 1987, inhumé|trans-title=Mourning: Neuba Yessoh, the only survivor of the plane crash at Alépé in 1987, buried|url=https://www.fratmat.info/index.php/societe/deuil-neuba-yessoh-le-seul-rescap%C3%A9-du-crash-d%E2%80%99avion-%C3%A0-al%C3%A9p%C3%A9-en-1987-inhum%C3%A9|access-date=2015-04-13|website=[[Fraternité Matin|fratmat.info]]|language=French}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Varig Flight 810]]
* [[VASP Flight 168]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Brazil|Africa|Aviation}}
{{external media
| float = right
| width =
| image1 = [http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=PP-VJK Photos of PP-VJK at Airliners.net]}}
*[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19870103-0 Aircraft details at Aviation Safety Network]

{{Varig}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1987}}

[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1987]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Ivory Coast]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 707]]
[[Category:Varig accidents and incidents|797]]
[[Category:1987 in Ivory Coast]]
[[Category:January 1987 in Africa]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by mechanical failure]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by engine failure]]

Varig Flight 797 - Revision history

imported>JJMC89 bot III: Moving :Category:January 1987 events in Africa to :Category:January 1987 in Africa per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy