HOME | DD

Description
The VASP 168 flight was an air crash on June 8, 1982, when a Boeing 727-200 bound for Fortaleza crashed into the Serra da Aratanha, near Pacatuba (in the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza), Ceará. All 137 Boeing occupants were killed in the crash, the fourth-worst crash in Brazilian commercial aviation, overtaken on September 29, 2006 by the 1907 Flight of Gol, which killed all 154 occupants by the accident on July 17 of 2007 with Flight TAM 3054 that killed in all 199 people including some on land and, finally, by Air France Flight 447, that fell near the archipelago of São Pedro and São Paulo, in the dawn of 1 of June of 2009, killing in all 228 people. In the passenger list there were two people who did not board that flight because they were late. They are Ivan Dionízio da Cruz and Adão Borges Ferreira.

The commander asked to leave the cruise level approximately 253 km from Fortaleza, when by navigation charts used to approach the Airport Pinto Martins should do so at 159 km. Both the traffic control and its assistant did not question the reason for descending so far. By stabilizing at the altitude authorized by traffic, you could see the lights of the capital of Ceará. That's when the co-pilot said, "Do not you have some hills up there?" At that time, Vasp's Boeing flew over the Pacatuba region. Six alarms sounded in the cockpit, but the pilot ignored them, at 02:53 a.m., Boeing crashed into the Serra de Aratanha without leaving any survivors.

Among the known victims was Edson Queiroz, a Cearense businessman who owns a business group operating in several Brazilian states (Edson Queiroz Group) and the Verdes Mares System, which owned TV Verdes Mares, an affiliate of Rede Globo in the capital of Ceará, and radio stations in Ceará and other states.
[Transcript of the Cockpit Voice Recorder CVR]

2:24:56 CAM-2 Can you see there are some hills in front?

2:24:59 CAM-1 What? There's what?

2:25:00 CAM [SOUND OF ALTITUDE ALERT HORN]

2:25:01 CAM-2 ...some hills, isn't there?

2:25:02 CAM [SOUND OF IMPACT AND SCREAM OF CAPTAIN]

[End of Recording]

Description
The VASP 168 flight was an air crash on June 8, 1982, when a Boeing 727-200 bound for Fortaleza crashed into the Serra da Aratanha, near Pacatuba (in the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza), Ceará. All 137 Boeing occupants were killed in the crash, the fourth-worst crash in Brazilian commercial aviation, overtaken on September 29, 2006 by the 1907 Flight of Gol, which killed all 154 occupants by the accident on July 17 of 2007 with Flight TAM 3054 that killed in all 199 people including some on land and, finally, by Air France Flight 447, that fell near the archipelago of São Pedro and São Paulo, in the dawn of 1 of June of 2009, killing in all 228 people. In the passenger list there were two people who did not board that flight because they were late. They are Ivan Dionízio da Cruz and Adão Borges Ferreira.

The commander asked to leave the cruise level approximately 253 km from Fortaleza, when by navigation charts used to approach the Airport Pinto Martins should do so at 159 km. Both the traffic control and its assistant did not question the reason for descending so far. By stabilizing at the altitude authorized by traffic, you could see the lights of the capital of Ceará. That's when the co-pilot said, "Do not you have some hills up there?" At that time, Vasp's Boeing flew over the Pacatuba region. Six alarms sounded in the cockpit, but the pilot ignored them, at 02:53 a.m., Boeing crashed into the Serra de Aratanha without leaving any survivors.

Among the known victims was Edson Queiroz, a Cearense businessman who owns a business group operating in several Brazilian states (Edson Queiroz Group) and the Verdes Mares System, which owned TV Verdes Mares, an affiliate of Rede Globo in the capital of Ceará, and radio stations in Ceará and other states.
[Transcript of the Cockpit Voice Recorder CVR]

2:24:56 CAM-2 Can you see there are some hills in front?

2:24:59 CAM-1 What? There's what?

2:25:00 CAM [SOUND OF ALTITUDE ALERT HORN]

2:25:01 CAM-2 ...some hills, isn't there?

2:25:02 CAM [SOUND OF IMPACT AND SCREAM OF CAPTAIN]

[End of Recording]