'Convenience' can cause air crashes: The Congonhas story

18 July 2007

The TAM airlines Airbus A-320 crash that killed all 176 passengers on board at Congonhas airport in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo was a tragedy just waiting to happen, according to aviation experts. Everybody knew the place was a dangerous trap but it was convenient for everybody — the authorities, the airlines and the public — and consequently continued to operate.

The crash of the flight, from Porto Alegre in the south of the country, has resulted in a higher toll than last year's collision on 29 September 2006 of a Boeing 737 with a Legacy executive jet over the Brazilian Amazon, which left 154 people aboard the Boeing dead and became Brazil's deadliest air accident till date. The exact toll in the present accident is not yet known, but is likely to be over 200, including deaths on the ground.

Skidded off
"Turn around! Turn around! Turn around!" These were the insistent appeals and the last words uttered by the Airbus pilot heard by the air controllers at the Congonhas control tower, at about 6.45 pm. The pilot seemed to have lost control of the plane while trying to land on a wet runway in heavy rain. The aircraft skidded off the runway, crossed a busy avenue close to the airport and crashed into a warehouse and a gas station on the other side of the road.

According to investigating authorities, the time between the landing and the crash followed by the explosion that consumed the plane, was just a few seconds. Reports indicate that the tower informed the plane's commander that the runway was wet and slippery. But everything seemed to be under control after touchdown, so air controllers had already authorised the next plane in line to touch down.

Tried to take off?
It is believed that the aircraft collided with the building at about 110 miles an hour, a speed that suggests the pilot had tried to take off again, after noticing that the landing hadn't been successful. Around 50 fire fighting teams fought to control the fire caused by the crash, and the flames were extinguished only around 9.15 pm. Rescue efforts had to be briefly suspended soon after, when a wall hit by the jet collapsed at 10:30 pm. The airplane was completely destroyed.

Some of the bodies recovered were not burned, suggesting that some passengers were thrown from the plane on impact with the building. Many of the victims were pedestrians, motorists and airport workers, on the ground.