| Date: | Wednesday 1 November 1961 |
| Time: | 05:15 |
| Type: |  Douglas DC-7C |
| Owner/operator: | Panair do Brasil |
| Registration: | PP-PDO |
| MSN: | 44872/643 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1955 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 45 / Occupants: 88 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 2,7 km NW of Recife-Guararapes International Airport, PE (REC) -
 Brazil
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Sal-Amilcar Cabral International Airport (SID/GVAC) |
| Recife-Guararapes International Airport, PE (REC/SBRF) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A Panair do Brasil Douglas DC-7 crashed while on approach to Recife Airport, Brazil , killing 45 occupants; 43 survived the accident.
The DC-7, operating on a flight from Lisbon to Recife via Ilha do Sal, approached Recife at night in good visibility. The crew apparently performed a direct entry into the base leg, flying too low and out of the regular traffic pattern, in spite of the fact that the pilot had reported on wind leg. The plane struck a 84 m high hill and broke up, 2720 m short of the runway 15 threshold and right of the extended centreline.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The accident was caused by pilot error, i.e. improper evaluation of distance, flying a non-standard traffic pattern by night and failing to observe altitude minima during the final approach.
A contributing cause was the improper night marking of obstructions along the approach path towards runway 15."
Sources:
ICAO Circular 69-AN/61
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Oct-2024 19:03 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, ] |
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