Latest news with #TAMAirlines
Indian Express
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
True story behind Netflix's A Tragedy Foretold Flight 3054: The secrets of Brazil's deadliest crash, resulting in 199 deaths
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. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO 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.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Stream It Or Skip It: ‘A Tragedy Foretold: Flight 3054' On Netflix, A Docuseries About Latin America's Deadliest Air Disaster And The Families Who Still Want Answers
A Tragedy Foretold: Flight 3054is a three-part docuseries, directed by Angelo Defanti, that examines the deadliest air disaster in Latin American history and its aftermath 18 years later. On a rainy night in July 2007, TAM Airlines flight 3054 skidded down the runway as it tried to land at Congonhas Airport in São Paulo, Brazil. It ended up crashing into a building owned by TAM Airlines, and exploded. A total of 199 people were killed: all 187 passengers and crew on the plane, and 12 people on the ground. Opening Shot: A shot of a plane flying through rain clouds. The Gist: In the docuseries, director Angelo Defanti talks to survivors of the accident, namely people who worked in the building the plane crashed into, as well as families of people who died in the crash. There are also CGI reenactments that depict how authorities believe the accident proceeded, including just how the plane briefly went airborne again before crashing into the building. But much of the docuseries focuses on how an accident at Congohas Airport was almost bound to happen. Congohas is situated in São Paulo's city center, surrounded by city blocks with businesses and residences, and has a short runway with little room for pilots to course correct. While there is a newer international airport on the city's outskirts that was supposed to lighten the load on Congohas, the outmoded city airport was busier than ever by 2007, due to its central location. This caused overcrowded terminals, loaded planes and short tempers on the part of passengers and staff. The country's air infrastructure in general was strained at the time, suffering from delays and accidents. The victims' families are angry about the accident to this day, and blame Brazilian transportation authorities and the airline for letting the situation at Conhogas continue to get worse over time. In the third episode, Denise Abreu, chairman of Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (the Brazilian equivalent of the NTSB) at the time, is interviewed; she faced federal charges in the aftermath of the accident. What Shows Will It Remind You Of? A Tragedy Foretold: Flight3054 reminds us of another Netflix docuseries about an air disaster: MH370: The Plane That Disappeared. Our Take: Given that we're not at all familiar with the TAM flight 3054 crash, despite its horrific circumstances, A Tragedy Foretold: Flight 3054 was certainly informative, giving us more than enough context about the accident without getting into the weeds about everything that preceded it. In so many docuseries about mass casualty events, things plod along because the producers and director want us to get all the context surrounding the time period first, then move on to the stories of some of the victims. In this series, though, the crash is at the outset of the first episode, with the filmmakers' goal to backfill information about the airport's shortcomings, the aviation crisis in Brazil at the time, and other contextual information as the investigation is examined. The tone of the storytelling from the first minute — even the title of the series — tells viewers that the idea of this accident's inevitability is going to be the major thrust of the show. Just the overview shots of Congohas, surrounded by city blocks, shows just how tenuous the situation was there — if you've ever flown in or out of Reagan National in DC, you know how tenuous that is. But it seemed like there was a perfect storm of events, no pun intended given the weather conditions the night of the crash, that made conditions ripe for an accident like this. Given the context about Brazil's aviation crisis that's filled in as the investigation unfolds — and the really awful way that the airline handled things in the aftermath — it's no wonder why the victims' families are still so angry 18 years later. Sex and Skin: None. Parting Shot: Clips of the second episode, where victims' families accuse TAM of disregarding passenger Star: The account of how Paulo Zani, who was working in the TAM Express building when the plane crashed into it, and a coworker escaped with their lives was harrowing to listen Pilot-y Line: While we're not huge fans of reenactments, we were impressed with the reenactments of the crash, likely done via detailed CGI. Our Call: STREAM IT. A Tragedy Foretold: Flight 3054 is an impressive recounting of the deadliest airline crash in Latin American history, with the context of missteps that led to the crash doled out in a way that mirrors the crash's investigation. Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn't kid himself: he's a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, Fast Company and elsewhere.
Time Magazine
23-04-2025
- Time Magazine
The True Story Behind Netflix's Aviation Disaster Documentary A Tragedy Foretold: Flight 3054
On July 17, 2007, Brazil endured the worst aviation accident in the country's history: the crash of a TAM Airlines plane, which left 199 people dead. The incident is also considered the biggest aviation tragedy in Latin America and is revisited in the Brazilian documentary series A Tragedy Foretold, releasing on Netflix on April 23 amid a recent uptick in concerns of aviation safety in the U.S. On the day of the tragic crash, the aircraft—an Airbus A320 operated by TAM—failed to land properly at Congonhas Airport in São Paulo. It overran the runway and collided with a TAM building and a gas station on Washington Luís Avenue, causing an explosion. When the TAM Airbus A320 tragedy occurred in 2007, Brazil was undergoing what became known as the 'aviation blackout'—a crisis in the country's civil aviation sector between 2006 and 2007, marked by massive delays, flight cancellations, and airport chaos, affecting millions of passengers. The crisis was caused by a lack of investment in airport infrastructure and air traffic control—the result of years of budget cuts—and by low wages and poor working conditions for air traffic controllers. This led to strikes and work-to-rule protests (when strict adherence to procedures is used to slow down operations), all while passenger numbers were growing without proportional expansion of infrastructure. The crisis worsened after the crash of Gol Flight 1907 on Sept. 29, 2006, which killed all passengers and crew onboard when it collided with another aircraft en route from Manaus to Brasília. This incident heightened insecurity among aviation professionals. Some air traffic controllers were suspended for investigation over potential operational errors. With no backups available, others had to cover for them, leading to even more strain. Controllers demanded better working conditions and the urgent hiring of more personnel. The worst accident in Brazil's aviation history At approximately 6:48 p.m. Brazil local time on July 17, 2007, the TAM Airbus A320—now operating under the name LATAM—was arriving from Salgado Filho Airport in Porto Alegre and attempted to land at Congonhas Airport in São Paulo. The runway was wet and, due to recent renovations, lacked the grooving that helps aircraft brake more effectively. The landing maneuver was unsuccessful: the Airbus overran the runway and crashed into a TAM cargo building located directly across from the airport. The plane exploded, killing 199 people: 181 passengers, six crew members, and 12 individuals who were on the ground or in the building. The building was later demolished and turned into a memorial for the victims, featuring 199 points of light. In the documentary series, victims' families recall the day of the accident and the agonizing wait to identify the bodies. Some families were unable to bury their loved ones, as some victims' bodies were completely pulverized in the crash. Others were found as much as 30 days after the accident. The accident was investigated by three Brazilian agencies. CENIPA, the Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents, concluded that a combination of human and operational errors caused the tragedy. According to the report, during landing, the pilots placed only one of the engine thrust levers in the idle position, while the other remained in climb mode. This caused the aircraft's system to interpret that they were attempting to take off again, not brake. A final segment of the cockpit voice recorder captured the pilots noting that only one of the controls was functioning properly. Other contributing factors included the lack of an audible alert for throttle misconfiguration and flaws in crew training, which relied heavily on online courses. Although he was experienced, the co-pilot had limited hours flying A320 aircraft. Additionally, there was no regulation preventing landings at Congonhas with an inoperative thrust reverser—even on rainy days. CENIPA, as a preventive agency, did not name those responsible. However, its report contributed to further investigations by the Civil Police and Federal Police, which reached different conclusions on accountability. Who was held responsible? Initially, the Civil Police indicted 10 people, including employees of Infraero (the airport authority), the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac), and TAM Airlines. The State Public Prosecutor's Office added one more name, bringing the total to 11 individuals formally accused. However, the case did not proceed in state court. It was transferred to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, under the argument that it involved a crime against aviation safety, falling under federal jurisdiction. The Federal Police then took over the investigation and ultimately indicted only the two pilots: Kleyber Lima and Henrique Stefanini Di Sacco. Even so, when the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office formally brought charges, prosecutor Rodrigo de Grandis chose to indict three other people instead: TAM's Director of Flight Safety, Marco Aurélio dos Santos de Miranda e Castro; the company's Vice President of Operations, Alberto Fajerman; and Anac director Denise Abreu. In 2014, Fajerman was acquitted due to lack of evidence. Denise Abreu and Marco Aurélio were charged with intentional homicide—arguing they allowed the aircraft to operate in inadequate conditions—but in 2015, all three defendants were acquitted. What changed after the tragedy? CENIPA's report issued 83 safety recommendations, directed to the International Civil Aviation Organization, Anac, Congonhas Airport, Airbus, and TAM. One major change was the installation of visual and audio warning systems to alert pilots of possible throttle misconfigurations. At the time of the crash, Airbus had already developed the device but had not mandated its installation, as this would have required a costly recall. At Congonhas Airport, the most notable change was the resurfacing of the runway, now with transverse grooving and a porous friction layer to improve water drainage and reduce the risk of skidding. The usable length of the main runway was reduced to 1,660 meters to allow for safety zones. Regarding pilot training, the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) established minimum training standards specifically for braking system failures. Although Brazil has recorded an increase in air accidents in recent years—especially in 2024, which saw 138 deaths in 40 fatal accidents and was considered the deadliest year for Brazilian aviation since 2014—these figures include various types of aircraft, such as helicopters and ultralights, according to data from the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention System maintained by the Brazilian Air Force. In the case of regular commercial aviation—the category to which TAM Flight 3054 belonged—the first fatal accident recorded since the 2007 tragedy occurred in August 2024. At that time, Flight 2283, an ATR 72-500 operated by Voepass, crashed in Vinhedo, in the state of São Paulo, killing 62 people. Until then, Brazil had gone 17 years without a fatal accident in regular commercial aviation—a figure that reinforces the idea that many of the safety recommendations adopted after the TAM crash had a lasting impact.
