Incident Overview
Description
Pan Am flight 202, a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, crashed following an in-flight break-up 450 km south-west of Carolina, MA, Brazil, killing all 50 occupants. Flight PA202 originated at Buenos Aires, destination New York, with en route stops scheduled at Montevideo, Uruguay; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Port of Spain, Trinidad. The flight departed Buenos Aires 18:52 UTC. After a scheduled stop at Montevideo the flight arrived at Rio de Janeiro at 01:05, April 29. The flight departed Rio de Janeiro at 02:43 for a direct off-airways flight to Port of Spain. At 06:16 the flight reported abeam of Barreiras, flying at 14,500 feet under VFR conditions and estimating abeam of Carolina, Brazil, at 07:45 UTC. This was the last known message from the flight. The aircraft was later found to have crashed in dense jungle. PROBABLE CAUSE: “The separation of the no.2 engine and propeller from the aircraft due to highly unbalanced forces, followed by uncontrollability and disintegration of the aircraft for reasons undetermined.”
Primary Cause
Highly unbalanced forces caused by the separation of the no.2 engine and propeller, leading to uncontrolability and disintegration of the aircraft.Highly unbalanced forces caused by the separation of the no.2 engine and propeller, leading to uncontrolability and disintegration of the aircraft.Share on:
