True story behind Netflix's A Tragedy Foretold Flight 3054: The secrets of Brazil's deadliest crash, resulting in 199 deaths

Indian Express

27-04-2025

Netflix is revisiting one of the deadliest crashes in aviation history. In 2007, Brazil experienced one of its worst aviation disasters with the crash of TAM Airlines Flight 3054, which claimed 199 lives. Eighteen years later, with safety concerns in the sector rising and similar incidents being recorded, the OTT streamer released A Tragedy Foretold on April 23. The docuseries takes a closer look at what went wrong and the chain of failures that led to the tragic event. From an overcrowded airport to dangerous runway conditions, lack of communication and poor pilot training, the film explores how a series of mistakes were overlooked, resulting in a catastrophe that remains one of the deadliest aviation tragedies, still haunting Brazil to this day.
A Tragedy Foretold: Flight 3054
The new Netflix documentary uncovers the chilling story with gripping visuals and firsthand accounts, forcing us to confront the painful truth behind one of South America's worst airline crashes at Congonhas Airport. It also serves as a clever reminder for viewers to consider how small oversights led to the disaster and raises questions about the potential for history to repeat itself, especially with the uptick in concerns over American flights. 'This airport has always been a challenging one for pilots to navigate. Its reputation has always been bad. And it was getting even worse, some would say,' says a Congonhas pilot.
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What went wrong with TAM Airlines Flight 3054?
On July 17, 2007, a domestic carrier that took off from Porto Alegre tragically crashed at São Paulo airport while attempting to make a risky landing. The flight reportedly skidded, as the runway surface was slippery and lacked the necessary equipment to drain rainwater. To make matters worse, it rained on the day of the crash, further worsening braking conditions. The flight then veered off, hit a freeway, collided with the TAM warehouse, and exploded in flames after hitting a nearby petrol pump. According to an investigation carried out by Brazil's Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Centre (CENIPA), the flight was completely destroyed alongside the local convenience stores.
The flight was carrying 187 passengers and crew members, all of whom lost their lives, along with 12 ground crew members. An investigation revealed that the blatant negligence of basic safety measures caused the accident. The factors included the Brazilian Air Force management crisis, poor pilot training, dense locations, and a lack of essential equipment, all contributing to the disaster.
Congonhas Airport is in the middle of a city surrounded by tall buildings, and thus, there was no space for planes to stop safely if they overshot the runway. This made the already dangerous landing even worse. As one person in the documentary describes, flying into Congonhas felt like flying past people's living rooms. Poor pilot training and a lack of communication also played a major role in this disaster. The investigation found that there were issues with the crew's communication and their awareness of what was happening during the landing attempt (since the slippery surface issue was already flagged a day before by staff and other pilots who were aware of the runway situation.). The training was rushed due to high demand for pilots, and there weren't enough courses to fully prepare them for these dangerous circumstances.
One key piece of equipment, the throttle misconfiguration alert, could have helped avoid the crash. According to EW, this alert was available, but Airbus hadn't made it mandatory at the time. Had it been in place, the pilots would have been warned that something was wrong with the plane's engine settings. The documentary also spotlights Brazil's aviation system's poor management with delays and cancelled flights affecting millions, calling it the country's biggest aviation crisis. A lot changed after the incident. Several people were investigated, including pilots, airport officials, and airline executives. A public outcry forced the government and aviation companies to implement new laws. Still in 2024 alone, Brazil has recorded over 138 deaths in 40 such crash incidents, and it was called the deadliest year in aviation since 2014.