What happened
On the evening of the accident, a Vickers Viscount operated by VASP was performing a scheduled commercial service traveling from Recife to São Paulo, with planned stops in Vitória and Rio de Janeiro. The aircraft departed from Vitória at 18:45 GMT and reached an altitude of 1800 meters.
At approximately 19:33, the flight crew transmitted a position report indicating they were over Rio Bonito while maintaining an altitude of 1800 meters under instrument meteorological conditions. However, the aircraft was actually positioned over Nova Friburgo, roughly 43 km away from the reported location. During this phase of flight, the aircraft struck the western slope of Pico da Caledônia at an elevation of approximately 1950 meters.
Search efforts located the wreckage a few hours after the impact. The accident resulted in 39 fatalities, with no survivors among the passengers or crew.
Findings
The investigation determined that the aircraft struck an obstacle situated 35 km to the right of its intended flight path. The specific reason for this significant deviation from the planned track remains unidentified.