What happened
During an attempt to land at Porto Alegre, the flight crew was forced to abort their initial approach because of deteriorating weather conditions. After the first missed approach, the aircraft performed a vertical circuit around the city. During this period, the pilot notified air traffic control that the onboard fuel levels had reached a critical reserve.
While attempting a second landing under visual flight rules (VFR), the crew encountered significantly low visibility. As the four-engine aircraft descended, it struck power cables and subsequently crashed into a hillside approximately 15 kilometers from the runway threshold. The impact caused the aircraft to burst into flames on a slope situated 200 meters above the surrounding terrain. There were 51 fatalities resulting from the accident.
Findings
Investigation details indicate that the pilot in command was attempting to maintain visual contact with the ground during the approach. The crash occurred while the aircraft was operating in low-visibility conditions, leading to an insufficient altitude that resulted in the collision with power lines.