What happened
On a flight from Rome to Monrovia, the crew of a Douglas DC-8 operated by Varig was cleared to descend to 3000 feet while near the Roberts VOR. Although the pilot acknowledged the new altimeter setting, the descent clearance itself was not acknowledged. The aircraft continued its approach at 4500 feet. Despite having visual contact with the runway lights from directly above, the pilot elected to perform an IFR/VOR procedure.
During the instrument approach, the crew transitioned through stratus clouds and fog patches. As the aircraft descended below 1000 feet, the captain instructed the co-pilot to stop reporting altitude and speed so that the co-pilot could focus on visual acquisition of the runway. Upon passing the FR locator beacon, the aircraft was at approximately 800 feet, significantly higher than the required 520 feet. In an attempt to correct this, the pilot increased the descent rate to between 1200 and 1500 feet per minute by reducing power and pitching the nose down.
Shortly after passing the FR beacon, the co-pilot noted that the runway was visible but warned that the aircraft was too low. The plane eventually struck the ground 6023 feet before the threshold of runway 04, landing 180 feet to the right of the centerline. The impact and an 850-foot ground slide caused the aircraft to break apart and ignite. The accident resulted in 56 fatalities among the crew and passengers, as well as 5 deaths of people in a nearby house.
Findings
Investigations revealed that the pilot failed to utilize the distance measuring equipment (DME) during the final approach. When the crew realized they were too high at the FR locator, the pilot chose to increase the rate of descent rather than initiating a missed approach. This maneuver proved unsuccessful as the attempt to level off was either too late or insufficient to maintain the proper glide path. Additionally, while emergency responders arrived quickly, the size of the fire crew and the time required to reach the wreckage impacted the survival of those still trapped in the aircraft.