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VASP Flight 375

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VASP Flight 375
PP-SNT, the aircraft involved in the hijacking, at Galeão Airport
Hijacking
DateSeptember 29, 1988 (1988-09-29)
SummaryHijacking
SiteInitially over Minas Gerais, over Bria;
subsequently Santa Genoveva Airport, Goiânia
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 737-317
OperatorVASP
IATA flight No.VP375
ICAO flight No.VSP375
Call signVASP 375
RegistrationPP-SNT
Flight originPorto Velho International Airport, Porto Velho, Brazil
1st stopoverBrasília International Airport, Brasília, Brazil
2nd stopoverSanta Genoveva Airport, Goiânia, Brazil
3rd stopoverConfins International Airport, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
DestinationGaleão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Occupants105
Passengers98 plus 1 hijacker
Crew7
Fatalities2
Injuries3 (1 crew, 1 flight attendant, 1 hijacker)
Survivors103 (All passengers, 4 crew, 1 hijacker)

VASP Flight 375 was a hijacked flight on September 29, 1988, by Raimundo Nonato Alves da Conceição, who aimed to crash the plane with 98 passengers and 7  crew aboard against the Planalto Palace in Brasília. The flight, operated by a Boeing 737-300 aircraft, left Porto Velho to Rio de Janeiro, making stops in Brasília, Goiânia and Belo Horizonte. In the final phase of the flight, between Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro, the plane was hijacked and diverted to Brasília. The hijacking was unsuccessful, and the aircraft landed safely in Goiânia. The only fatality as a result of the hijacking was the First Officer, Salvador Evangelista.[1]

The pilot who averted the tragedy, Fernando Murilo de Lima e Silva, was honoured in October 2001 by the National Aeronaut Union and received the Aeronautical Highlight trophy for preventing the deaths of almost 100 passengers aboard the aircraft.[2][3]

Hijacking

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By the end of the 1980s, Brazil was facing a poor economic phase with high unemployment and inflation.[4][5][2] Raimundo Nonato Alves da Conceição, who was from a poor family and had recently lost his job, decided to punish the person he thought responsible for the bad situation he and the country were going through: the then President of the Republic, José Sarney, launching an airplane against the Planalto Palace, where the Presidential Office is located.[4][6][7][3] Raimundo bought a 32-caliber revolver[4][5][3] and boarded VASP flight 375. At the time, X-ray machines and metal detectors were not used to check baggage at Confins Airport, which allowed free passage of the passenger.[7]

The aircraft was a Boeing 737-317 (manufacturer's serial number 23176, Boeing line number 1213, registration PP-SNT).[8] It had its first flight on March 18, 1986, and was delivered to Canadian airline CP Air on April 2, 1986. Subsequently, it was delivered to VASP, Morris Air, and ultimately ended up in the fleet of U.S. carrier Southwest Airlines. Southwest stopped service of the aircraft under the registration N698SW in 2013, and it was scrapped in Greenwood Airport.

The flight, which came from Porto Velho and stopped at Belo Horizonte, took off at 10:42 am and about 20 minutes after takeoff, with the plane already in the air space of Rio de Janeiro, Raimundo Nonato announced the hijacking: said he wanted to enter in the cockpit and shot Ronaldo Dias, a flight attendant, when he tried to stop him.[1][7][8][3] He fired several times at the cockpit door, broke it open, and went inside. Upon entering, Raimundo shot the extra crew member, Gilberto Renhe, who had his leg fractured by the shot. Without the hijacker noticing, pilot Fernando Murilo de Lima e Silva called for the transponder code 7500, which in the language of aeronautics indicates illegal interference (hijacking).[5][7] While attempting to answer Cindacta's radio response, First Officer Salvador Evangelista was shot by the hijacker and died instantly.[1][4][5] Raimundo then pointed the revolver at the captain and demanded that the aircraft be diverted immediately to Brasília. Raimundo eventually gave up throwing the plane against the Planalto Palace but prevented the pilot from landing the plane with almost no fuel at Brasília International Airport or at Anápolis Air Force Base.[4] When he approached Goiânia, the pilot made two acrobatic maneuvers (a "tonneau" and a spin)[7][3] that were witnessed by a Mirage III fighter. It was successful in the second maneuver, which allowed a quick landing at Santa Genoveva Airport at 1:45 pm.[1][6] On land, the hijacking and negotiations continued for several hours. The hijacker even demanded a smaller plane to flee, but around 7:00 pm,[8] when he was descending the flight ladder using the pilot as a shield, he was shot three times by the elite Brazil Federal Police team. He died two days later, a victim of sickle-cell disease,[6][7] unrelated to the shots, according to the coroner Fortunato Badan Palhares.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Maeda, Yosikazu (30 September 1988). "Seqüestrador desvia Boeing da Vasp e mata co-piloto" [Kidnapper hijacks Boeing from Vasp and kills co-pilot]. Jornal do Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese) (2 ed.). p. 4. Archived from the original on 10 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b Miyashiro, Kelly (1 December 2023). "'Sequestro do Voo 375': a história do atentado que quase mudou o Brasil" [‘Hijacking of Flight 375’: the story of the attack that almost changed Brazil]. Veja (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 3 March 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Martins, Thays (29 September 2023). "Sequestro do avião da Vasp completa 35 anos; relembre o quase 11/9 no Brasil" [Vasp plane hijacking turns 35; remember the almost 9/11 in Brazil]. Correio Braziliense (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e Veiga, Edison (28 September 2023). "Há 35 anos, um desempregado sequestra um avião — seu plano era atingir o Palácio do Planalto e matar o presidente" [35 years ago, an unemployed man hijacked a plane — he planned to hit the Planalto Palace and kill the president]. BBC News (in Brazilian Portuguese). Bled. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d "Sequestro de avião no Brasil: qual é a história por trás do voo 375?" [Plane hijacking in Brazil: what is the story behind Flight 375?]. National Geographic (in Brazilian Portuguese). 7 February 2024. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Vaiano, Maria Clara (9 December 2023). ""O Sequestro do voo 375": conheça os fatos reais por trás do filme" [“The Hijacking of Flight 375”: discover the real facts behind the film]. Galileu (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Filho, William Helal (29 September 2023). "Sequestro do voo 375: A tentativa de jogar um avião sobre o Palácio do Planalto" [Hijacking of flight 375: The attempt to throw a plane over the Palácio do Planalto]. O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "UI Boeing 737-317 PP-SNT, Thursday 29 September 1988". Flight Safety Foundation. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.

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