Summary Smoking in-flight led to a fire, killing 7 crew and 116 passengers, while survivors suffered smoke inhalation. The tragic incident sparked significant industry changes, including smoking bans and improved cabin safety equipment. The outcome of the accident influenced stricter safety regulations for all airlines, enhancing passenger and crew safety.
It was July 11, 1973. Varig flight 820 had completed the first leg of the trip from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From there they would fly onwards to Orly Airport, Paris, France and finally onto London, England.
The Boeing 707 had 117 passengers and 17 crew members onboard. This was a flight that would change cabin safety regulations so much so, that such an event could not happen ever again. The flight crew The captain was Gilberto Araujo da Silva; assisting him were first officer Antonio Fuzimoto; relief pilots Alvio Basso and Ronald Utermoehl; engineers Carlos Diefenthaler Neto and Claunor Bello; and navigators Zilmar Gomes da Cunha and Salvador Ramos Heleno.
The relief crew would allow for a shift change during the flight. The cabin crew There were nine cabin crew : João Egidio Galetti (Chief Purser); stewards Edemar Goncalves Mascarenas, Carmelino Pires de Oliveira Jr., Sergio Carvalho Balbino, Luiz Edmundo Coelho Brandão, and Alain Henri Tersis; and stewardesses Andrea Piha, Elvira Strauss, and Hanelore Danzberg (chief stewardess).
Love aviation history ? Discover more of our stories here! Nearing Paris Aircraft type Boeing 707-320C Operator Varig IATA flight No. RG820 ICAO flight No. VRG820 Call sign VARIG 820 Registration PP-VJZ Flight origin Galeão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Stopover Orly Airport, Paris, France Destination Heathrow Airport, London The flight thus far had been routine and uneventful.
It was 13:56 and the aircraft was descending towards Orly Airport. A passenger visited the rear right lavatory and dropped a cigarette into the waste bin. There was an ashtray, but they did not use it.
Paper towels in the waste bin ignited. The fire started to spread behind the plastic and wood panels in the lavatory. White smoke started to drift towards the ceiling.
A passenger told cabin crew Alain, that he'd 'almost died there'. There were no smoke detectors to detect the fire and flames were not visible. Carmelino, Edemar, Alain and Elvira were working at the rear of the Boeing 707 that day.
What happened next? Edemar grabbed a fire extinguisher whilst Alain tried to cut the electrical power to the lavatories. The fire extinguisher was now empty but the fire was not out. In the meantime, Carmelino had told the two engineers about the fire.
Carlos, went back with him to assess the situation. On the way back, in the aisle, they passed Edemar with the empty fire extinguisher in his hand. He was going to the front to speak with the purser, João.
They went to the rear of the aircraft and the lavatory was full of smoke. Carmelino rushed to the front galley to retrieve an oxygen bottle and mask. On seeing the smoke drifting now around the cabin, passengers in economy were starting to panic.
Elvira tried to reassure them, after all, they were just minutes from landing. João went to the cockpit to inform the captain of the fire. It was 13:58.
Deadly smoke The first officer made a distress call to air traffic control and the Boeing 707 was given priority for a straight-in approach, to get them down as soon as possible. At the engineer's station, the circuit breakers started to pop as the fire made its way through the electrics. He tried to reset them but it didn't work.
Andrea was in the front lavatory when the lights went out. She saw Carmelino rushing back with the oxygen and mask. Carlos, the engineer, told Carmelino to open an overwing exit to try and clear the smoke.
The flight crew depressurized the cabin and used the air conditioning system to try and reduce the smoke. The relief pilot, Ronald went to help the firefighting effort at the rear of the cabin. The cabin was now full of smoke, which had turned from white to black and had become more dense.
Trying to escape Carlos, Alain and Carmelino escaped from the rear galley, forced out by the smoke, but relief pilot Ronald and cabin crew Elvira and Edemar were never seen again. The purser, João opened the cockpit door and told the captain that it was getting worse and passengers could not breathe. The first officer declared that there was a fire onboard and there was now smoke in the cockpit.
The flight crew put on their oxygen masks. Carmelino tried to go back to help his colleagues, but the black smoke almost knocked him to the ground. The flight crew could not see their instruments or the runway, so they opened the side windows in the cockpit to try and clear some smoke.
There were now nine crew members in the cockpit and only five seats and oxygen masks. Those who were not already seated were standing. In the front galley were cabin crew Alain, Luiz, Sergio and Hanelore and a passenger, who had left his seat.
One of the relief crew, Salvador stayed in the lavatory. Emergency landing The captain decided it was impossible to reach the runway, so descended rapidly, and deployed the landing gear and flaps. He looked for a field to land and they prepared for impact.
At 14:04, less than ten minutes after the fire started, the aircraft landed in an onion field, three miles from the airport. The landing gear collapsed and the windshield shattered on impact. The aircraft slid 500 meters, all four engines were torn off.
The aircraft then skidded sideways and the left wing came off before the aircraft finally came to a stop. The aftermath Occupants 134 Passengers 117 Crew 17 Fatalities 123 Injuries 11 Survivors 11 Carlos was standing in the cockpit and hit the bulkhead on impact, killing him instantly. Captain Gilberto, first officer Antonio, relief pilot Alvio, engineer Claunor and navigator Zilmar escaped through the cockpit windows.
The chief purser, João, and cabin crew, Andrea and Carmelino followed. Alain and Luiz sat in the jumpseats in the galley and opened the front exits. Smoke billowed out.
They called out for everyone to get out, but no one followed, to their dismay. The passengers were found sitting in their seats, still belted in but had died of carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation. Farmworkers rushed to the scene to help, and firefighters arrived just seven minutes later.
They found four people unconscious in the front galley: Sergio, Hanelore, a passenger, and Salvador, from the relief crew. Firefighters gave emergency first aid and tried to revive them but could only revive the passenger and Salvador. He died later in the hospital.
The passenger, 21-year-old Ricardo Trajano was the only passenger to survive the accident. Seven crew (four cabin crew and three relief crew) and 116 passengers died in the accident. The pilot error resulted in an unplanned landing on water.
Consequent actions The investigation and report say that a lit cigarette thrown into the wastebin was the probable cause of the accident. The FAA issued a directive that required "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". Want answers to more key questions in aviation? Check out the rest of our guides here Other safety improvements that followed included the use of more fire retardant materials, lavatory smoke detectors, waste bin fire extinguishers, more fire fighting equipment at crew stations, fire training for cabin crew and better communication systems between cabin crew stations and the cockpit.
A brave crew but a terrible tragedy..
