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TAM Airlines Flight 3054 was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by TAM Airlines from
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
to
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
, Brazil. On the evening of July 17, 2007, the Airbus A320-233 serving the flight from Porto Alegre overran runway 35L at São Paulo after touching down during moderate rain and crashed into a nearby TAM Express
warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...
adjacent to a
Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...
gas station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...
. The aircraft exploded on impact, killing all 187 passengers and crew on board, as well as 12 people on the ground. An additional 27 people in the warehouse were injured. The accident surpassed
Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 On 29 September 2006, Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907, a Boeing 737-800 on a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Manaus, Brazil, to Brasília and Rio de Janeiro, Mid-air collision, collided mid-air with an Embraer Legacy 600 business ...
as the deadliest aviation accident in Brazilian territory and in South American history and was the deadliest involving the Airbus A320 series until the bombing of
Metrojet Flight 9268 Metrojet Flight 9268 was an international chartered passenger flight operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia (branded as Metrojet). On 31 October 2015, at 06:13 local time EST (04:13 UTC), the Airbus A321-231 operating the flight exploded ...
in 2015, which killed 224. This was the last major fatal plane accident in Brazil until 2024, when
Voepass Linhas Aéreas Flight 2283 Voepass Flight 2283 was a scheduled domestic Brazilian passenger flight from Cascavel Airport, Cascavel to Guarulhos International Airport, Guarulhos. On 9 August 2024, the ATR 72-500 serving the flight crashed in Vinhedo, Vinhedo, São Paulo S ...
crashed near
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
which killed 62. The accident was investigated by the
Brazilian Air Force The Brazilian Air Force (, FAB) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Brazilian Brazilian Army Aviation (1919–1941), Army and Brazilian Naval Aviation, Nav ...
's
Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center The Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (, CENIPA) is a unit of the Brazilian Air Force that investigates aviation accidents and incidents in Brazil. It is headquartered in Brasília. See also * Gol Transportes Aéreos Fl ...
(; CENIPA), and a final report was issued in September 2009. CENIPA concluded that the accident was caused by pilot error during the landing at São Paulo. This also was due to the A320 overshooting the runway.


Background


Congonhas runway refit

On both of Congonhas Airport's runways (35L/17R and 35R/17L), a slope prevented the drainage of accumulated water on the asphalt. The surface was already smooth due to excess rubber from the increased braking required on landing. There were no
runway end safety area A runway safety area (RSA) or runway end safety area (RESA, if at the end of the runway) is defined as "the surface surrounding the runway prepared or suitable for reducing the risk of damage to airplanes in the event of an undershoot, overshoot, ...
s, as Avenida Washington Luís (a busy avenue), as well as several buildings and houses, were located at the end of runways 35L and 35R. On July 24, 2006, less than a year before the accident, a Boeing 737 of BRA Transportes Aéreos had difficulty stopping on runway 35L, but the pilots were able to bring the aircraft to a stop safely by performing a ground loop. Due to delays and flight cancellations caused by rains in early 2007,
Infraero Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária (abr. Infraero) is a Brazilian government corporation founded in 1973, authorized by Law 5,862, that is responsible for operating the main List of the busiest airports in Brazil, Brazilian com ...
(the company that manages Congonhas Airport) decided to resurface the airport's main runway. The installation of channeling grooves was planned to reduce the risk of
hydroplaning Aquaplaning or hydroplaning by the tires of a road vehicle, aircraft or other wheeled vehicle occurs when a layer of water builds between the wheels of the vehicle and the road surface, leading to a loss of traction (engineering), traction tha ...
. The resurfacing work was completed on June 29, but the grooves were not added. Infraero stated that adding the grooves would require an additional 30 days. Despite the incomplete refit, the Congonhas runway remained open for use during the 2006–07 Brazilian aviation crisis.


Landing difficulties

On July 16, the day before the crash, four pilots who landed at the airport reported poor braking conditions, including a TAM pilot who managed to stop his aircraft just a few meters before the end of the runway. Between 12:25 pm and 12:28 pm, Infraero suspended operations at the airport to assess the runway conditions and subsequently cleared it for use, reporting "no puddles and water slides." However, at 12:42 local time on the same day,
Pantanal Linhas Aéreas Pantanal Linhas Aéreas S.A. was a regional airline based in São Paulo, Brazil and incorporated by TAM Linhas Aéreas in 2013. It served destinations mainly in the southeast region of Brazil from its bases at Congonhas and Guarulhos airports in ...
Flight 4763, an
ATR 42-300 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now part of Airbu ...
, hydroplaned after touching down on runway 17R. The aircraft veered to the left, striking a concrete box and a small light pole before coming to rest on the grass between the runway and taxiway. All 25 people on board survived with no injuries, but the aircraft was severely damaged and deemed beyond repair. Despite this incident, landings continued to be conducted normally at the airport.


Aircraft and crew

The aircraft operating as Flight 3054 was a twin turbofan Airbus A320-233, serial number 789, registration PR-MBK; it was powered by two
IAE V2500 The IAE V2500 is a two-shaft high-bypass turbofan engine built by International Aero Engines (IAE) which powers the Airbus A320 family, the McDonnell Douglas MD-90, and the Embraer C-390 Millennium. The engine's name is a combination of the ...
engines. It was built in 1998 and had been operated by other airlines before entering service with TAM in January 2007, six months before the accident. The aircraft was owned by
Pegasus Aviation P&M Aviation was a British aircraft manufacturer, specializing in ultralight trikes, founded in 2003. The company was purchased by Albatross Flying Systems in 2019. History The company was formed in 2003 by Keith Duckworth's purchase of two ...
and had flown more than 21,000 hours over 10,000 cycles before the crash. The aircraft was dispatched with the
thrust reverser Thrust reversal, also called reverse thrust, is the temporary diversion of an aircraft engine's thrust for it to act against the forward travel of the aircraft, providing deceleration. Thrust reverser systems are featured on many jet aircraft to ...
on the starboard engine deactivated, as it had jammed. TAM said in a statement that a fault in a reverser "does not jeopardize landings" and no mechanical problem had been recorded on July 16, the day before the accident. The aircraft had no difficulty braking on the same runway a day before the fatal accident. There were six crew members and 181 passengers on board. All 6 crew members as well as 171 of the passengers were Brazilian; the 10 remaining passengers were of various other nationalities. The flight crew consisted of two captains (rather than the usual captain and first officer): Captain Henrique Stefanini Di Sacco (53), and Captain Kleyber Aguiar Lima (54). The four flight attendants included Cassia Negretto (28) with 8 years' service at TAM, Daniela Bahdur (29) with 4 years' service, Michelle Leite (26) with 1.5 years' service, and Renata Gonçalves (22) with 2 years' service. Both pilots had been flying for over 30 years. Stefanini had logged 13,654 flight hours in his career (including 2,236 hours on the Airbus A320), and Lima 14,760 hours, with 237 of them on the Airbus A320.


Flight chronology

Several players and coaches from the Grêmio football club were initially booked on Flight 3054, intending to catch a connecting flight in Congonhas and fly to
Goiânia Goiânia ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian federative units of Brazil, state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region and the 10th-larges ...
, for a game scheduled against the
Goiás Esporte Clube Goiás Esporte Clube is a Brazilian sports club, best known for its association football team, located in the city of Goiânia, capital city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. Goiás has won Brazilian's second tier Série B twice, in 1999 an ...
. However, the club's management rescheduled the trip to the next day. The plane departed from
Salgado Filho International Airport Porto Alegre–Salgado Filho International Airport is the airport serving Porto Alegre and the region of Greater Porto Alegre, Brazil. Since October 12, 1951, it is named after the Senator and first Minister of the Brazilian Air Force Joaquim ...
in
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
at 17:18 Brazilian Standard Time (BRT) (20:18
UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
). It climbed to flight level (FL) 340 (). At 18:48 BRT (21:48 UTC), the flight made its landing at Congonhas-São Paulo Regional Airport. 2 of the passengers were from Argentina since Porto Alegre is a nearby Brazilian city to Argentina.


Accident

Flight 3054 was cleared to land at Congonhas's Runway 35L. Reviews by government officials of the surveillance videos showed that despite the aircraft touching down without incident, it did not slow down normally, veering to the left as it departed the far end at around . The runway is elevated above the surrounding area, and the aircraft's momentum carried it over traffic on the adjacent ''Avenida Washington Luís'', a major thoroughfare, and crushed a four-story TAM Express facility, resulting in a large fire. The TAM Express facility contained offices and a warehouse, and was located adjacent to a Shell gas station. All 187 passengers and crew died and the aircraft was destroyed. The runway had recently been resurfaced, and did not yet have water-channeling grooves cut into it to reduce the danger of
hydroplaning Aquaplaning or hydroplaning by the tires of a road vehicle, aircraft or other wheeled vehicle occurs when a layer of water builds between the wheels of the vehicle and the road surface, leading to a loss of traction (engineering), traction tha ...
.
Flight Data Recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to colloquially as a "black box", an outdated nam ...
(FDR) information recovered after the crash and released by Brazilian authorities showed that immediately prior to touchdown, both
thrust lever Thrust levers or throttle levers are found in the cockpit of aircraft, and are used by the Pilot in command, pilot, copilot, flight engineer, or autopilot to control the thrust output of the aircraft's aircraft engine, engines, by controlling th ...
s were in CL (or "climb") position, with engine power being governed by the flight computer's
autothrottle An autothrottle (automatic throttle; also known as autothrust, A/T, or A/THR) is a system that allows a pilot to control the power setting of an aircraft's engines by specifying a desired flight characteristic, rather than manually controlling t ...
system. Two seconds prior to touchdown, an aural warning, "retard, retard", was issued by the flight's computer system, advising the pilots to retard the thrust lever to the recommended idle lever position. This would disengage the autothrottle, with engine power then governed directly by the thrust levers. At the moment of touchdown, the
spoiler Spoiler or Spoilers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Spoiler (media), something that reveals significant plot elements * The Spoiler, DC Comics superheroine Stephanie Brown Film and television * ''Spoiler'' (film), 1998 American ...
lever was in the "ARMED" position. According to the system logic of the A320's flight controls, in order for the spoilers to automatically deploy upon touchdown, not only must the spoiler lever be in the "ARMED" position, but both thrust levers must be at or close to the "idle" position. The FDR transcript shows that immediately after the warning, the flight computer recorded the left thrust lever being retarded to the rear-most position, activating the thrust reverser on the left engine, while the right thrust lever (controlling the engine with the disabled thrust reverser) remained in the CL position. One theory put forth by CENIPA is that the pilots may not have noticed that the right engine remained at CL because the Airbus autothrottle system, unlike other aircraft manufacturers, does not automatically move the levers when the autothrust controller changes engine settings. Therefore, the pilots may have thought that the right engine was at idle power without realizing that Airbus autothrust logic dictates that, when one or more of the thrust levers is pulled to the idle position, the autothrust is automatically disengaged. Thus, when the pilot pulled the left engine thrust lever to idle, it disconnected the autothrust system and the computer did not retard the right engine power to idle. The A320's spoilers did not deploy during the landing run, as the right thrust lever was above the "idle" setting required for automatic spoiler deployment. Since the right engine thrust lever was still in the "climb" detent at that time, the right engine accelerated to climb power while the left engine deployed its thrust reverser. The resulting asymmetric thrust condition resulted in a loss of control and a crash ensued. It only took 16 seconds from the incorrect positioning of the thrust levers to overrunning the runway with an ensuing loss of control, and 26 seconds until the aircraft crashed.


Timeline

Source:


Congonhas

Aviation safety in Brazil had been under increased scrutiny following the mid-air collision in September 2006 over the
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
of
Gol Transportes Aéreos Gol or GOL may refer to: Places * * Gol, Gilan, a village in Gilan Province, Iran * Gol, South Khorasan, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran * Gol, Bukan, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Gol, Chaldoran, a village in West A ...
Flight 1907 and an
Embraer Legacy 600 The Embraer Legacy 600 is a business jet derivative of the Embraer ERJ family of commercial jet aircraft. Design and development The Legacy 600 (market designation adopted after 2005) is based on the ERJ-135 model. It was launched in 2000 at ...
(see Brazil's 2006-2007 aviation crisis). The 35L runway at Congonhas is long. Congonhas's counterpart in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, the
Santos Dumont Airport The Santos Dumont Airport is the second major airport serving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named after the Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, Alberto Santos Dumont (1873–1932). It is operated by Infraero. History Or ...
, has an even shorter runway, at . Both airports receive the same type of traffic — ranging from small private planes to Boeing 737s and A320s. Many variables affect the landing distance of an aircraft, such as approach speed, weight and the presence of either a tailwind or a headwind. For an Airbus A320, a landing speed of higher than normal can result in as much as a 25% increase in the runway length needed to stop an aircraft. Wet weather can also significantly reduce the braking performance of aircraft, leading to an increase in the minimum runway length requirement. The airport is also known to be a dangerous airport in Brazil due to its runways. Pilots have called Congonhas airport the "aircraft carrier," because of the runway's short length and because pilots are told to
go-around In aviation, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on Final_approach_(aeronautics), final approach or has already touched down. A go-around can either be initiated by the pilot flying or requested by air traffic control for var ...
if they overshoot the first of runway. In June 2007, a Brazilian judge briefly banned flights using
Fokker 100 The Fokker 100 is a regional jet that was produced by Fokker in the Netherlands. The Fokker 100 was based on the Fokker F28 with a fuselage stretched by to seat up to 109 passengers, up from 85. It is powered by two newer Rolls-Royce Tay tur ...
,
Boeing 737-700 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a twin-engine narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third-generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it has been pr ...
and Boeing 737-800 aircraft in and out of the airport. The
Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...
was not among the aircraft banned, due to its manufacturer-stated
braking distance A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...
being shorter than those of the banned aircraft. Pilots had complained that water had been accumulating on the runway, reducing aircraft braking performance and occasionally causing planes to hydroplane. The judge claimed the runway needed to be longer for these aircraft to operate safely. At the time, a spokeswoman from Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency claimed "The safety conditions of the runway and the airport as a whole are adequate." TAM also objected to the decision, with a spokesman stating "If the injunction stands, it will cause total chaos," claiming over 10,000 passengers per day would be inconvenienced.


Aftermath

The airport reopened on July 19, 2007, using an alternative runway. Many flights, including all
OceanAir Oceanair was a regional airline that was based at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It competed on domestic routes with Prinair; and on routes to the Virgin Islands with Prinair and with Aero Virgin Islands; ...
and BRA Transportes Aéreos, were transferred to
Guarulhos International Airport Guarulhos () is a Brazilian municipality. It is the second most populous city in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, the 13th most populous city in Brazil, and is also the most populous city in the country that is not a state capital. In the las ...
, the major airport in São Paulo, due to the closure of the main runway at Congonhas and the ongoing investigation of the accident. On July 20, Presidency Chief of Staff
Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the only woman to have held the ...
announced plans to significantly reduce the number of flights operating at Congonhas. The plan included banning, within 60 days, all connection, stopover, charter, and international flights and the reduction in the number of private jets. The airport would only operate direct flights to certain cities in Brazil. The plan also called for a study of the expansion of São Paulo's two current airports and the construction of a third airport in the metropolitan area. State crime scene investigators terminated the search for remains on July 28, 2007; as of that date, 114 bodies recovered from the site had been identified by the São Paulo Medical Examiner's Office as those of passengers.


Investigation

The investigation was carried out by Brazil's
Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center The Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (, CENIPA) is a unit of the Brazilian Air Force that investigates aviation accidents and incidents in Brazil. It is headquartered in Brasília. See also * Gol Transportes Aéreos Fl ...
(CENIPA). Data from the
flight data recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to colloquially as a "black box", an outdated nam ...
and
cockpit voice recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to colloquially as a "black box", an outdated nam ...
(CVR) were downloaded by the
National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...
(NTSB) in the United States commencing July 20 and 23 respectively. Based on preliminary data from the FDR, on July 25 Airbus cautioned A320 operators to ensure that both thrust levers are set to idle during flare. The transcript of the CVR was released on August 1. It shows that the pilots were aware of the wet runway conditions and the deactivated thrust reverser. The pilots' comments suggest that the spoilers did not deploy and that they were unable to slow the aircraft. Crew error had not been ruled out. An investigation by the
Ministry of Justice and Public Security The Royal Ministry of Justice and Public Security () is a Norwegian government ministry that oversees justice, the police, and domestic intelligence. The main purpose of the ministry is to provide for the maintenance and development of the basic ...
released in November 2008 concluded that the pilots mistakenly left the lever for the right engine to climb upon landing, due to a mistake in landing procedures with the right thrust reverser being disabled from a prior maintenance, when in fact it was necessary to retard both engines in order for the spoilers to work. They also said that the National Civil Aviation Agency should have closed the airport on the night the plane landed because of heavy rains; that Congonhas airport authorities shared the blame because its runway had not been properly constructed with grooves to drain away excess rainwater, contributing to the crash; that the plane's manufacturer, Airbus, should have provided alarms warning the pilots that the braking system was failing; and that TAM failed to properly train its pilots, who did not act correctly in the emergency.


Final report

In September 2009, more than two years after the accident, CENIPA announced the results of official investigations. The report shows that one of the thrust levers, which control engines, was in position to accelerate when it should be in idle, but it was not proved if there was mechanical or human failure as the cause of the accident. The report suggests two hypotheses for the accident. In the first, there was a flaw in the power control of the plane's engines, which would have kept one of the thrust levers into acceleration, regardless of their actual position. This scenario would implicate mechanical failure of the aircraft as the cause of the accident. The likelihood of this failure occurring is calculated at once per 400 billion flight hours, and therefore highly improbable. In the second hypothesis, the pilot has performed a procedure different from that provided in the manual, and put the thrust lever in an irregular position. This scenario would implicate human error as the cause of the accident. In addition to the positions of the thrust levers, the report points to several factors that may have contributed to the accident, such as a high volume of rain on the day, with the formation of puddles on the runway, as well as the absence of grooving. The report does not blame the length of the runway for the accident. The BEA also cleared Airbus of any misdoing because they had proposed a system warning modification regarding the incorrect thrust lever positions that TAM had rejected.


Response

After the crash, President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...
ordered three days of
national mourning A national day of mourning is a day, or one of several days, marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the deat ...
. During the
2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...
in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, the Brazilian athletes wore a black armband in remembrance of the victims. The flags of all participating countries were flown at
half mast Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a sal ...
on July 18. Matches involving a Brazilian athlete or team started with a minute of silence. All matches of the Campeonato Brasileiro 2007 started with a minute of silence, while all players wore black armbands. Brazilian
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
driver
Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (; born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for TMG Racing, TMG and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Riley Technologies, Riley. Massa competed in Formula One from to , and w ...
had a black stripe on top of his helmet during the
2007 European Grand Prix The 2007 European Grand Prix (formally the 2007 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring, Nürburg, Germany on 22 July 2007. It was the tenth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. The 60- ...
, to commemorate the victims.
Rubens Barrichello Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for Full Time Sports. Nicknamed "Rubinho" (), Barrichello competed in Formula One fro ...
also had stripes on his helmet, and the two
Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in ...
drivers
David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard (born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster from Scotland who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "DC", Coulthard was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' ...
and Mark Webber had small Brazilian flags on their helmets referring to the accident. More than 5,000 Brazilians marched to the crash site on July 29, 2007, blaming their government's failure to invest in airport infrastructure for the crash. Many of the protesters also demanded Lula's ouster.


International reactions

Reactions shown internationally were strong all expressed condolences. *: President
Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoić (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Governor of Sa ...
called president Lula to express condolences. * : President
Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...
called president Lula to offer her condolences. * : President
Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese retired politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the president of China from 2003 to 2013, and chairman of the Central Military Comm ...
expressed his condolences to the Brazilian government as well as the friends and families of the victims. * : President
Horst Köhler Horst Köhler (; 22 February 1943 – 1 February 2025) was a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU ...
sent a telegram to President Lula expressing his condolences to the families of the victims. According to a statement reported by the German embassy in Brasilia, Germany would join the three-day mourning by lowering the flag at half-mast at the embassy. * : Former president
Vicente Fox Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. After campaigning as a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Fox was elected president on the Nat ...
expressed his condolences. * : President Alan Garcia expressed his condolences and requested to talk with president Lula. * :
Felipe VI of Spain Felipe VI (; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. In accordance with the Spanish Constitution, as monarch, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed For ...
was in Brazil at the time of the accident and expressed condolences. * : President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, his spokesman
Sean McCormack Sean McCormack (born 1964) is the Vice President of Communications at Chevron U.S.A. Inc. McCormack is responsible for corporate and brand communications, in addition to reputation management, employee and executive communications. He is a forme ...
, and secretary of state
Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...
all expressed their condolences. Rice also called Brazilian Foreign Minister
Celso Amorim Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim (born 3 June 1942) is a Brazilian diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 20 July 1993 to 31 December 1994 under President Itamar Franco and again from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2010 under President ...
to express additional condolences. * : Odilo Scherer, the
Archbishop of São Paulo In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...
, received a telegram from
Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
signed by the Vatican's secretary of state
Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican City, Vatican diplomat. A Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal since 2003, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as S ...
, expressing condolences as well as a mass for the victims. * : Foreign minister
Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and former union leader serving as the 53rd president of Venezuela since 2013. Previously, he was the 24th Vice President of Venezuela, vice president from 2012 to 20 ...
expressed his condolences to Brazil's government and citizens.


Memorial

On July 17, 2012, the fifth anniversary of the accident, a plaza named Memorial Square was opened. Memorial Square was built on the site of the TAM express warehouse (demolished on August 5, 2007), which is in area. There is a memorial with the names of the victims engraved as well as a
mulberry tree ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinate ...
that survived the crash. There is another memorial in
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
called "Largo da Vida," where 199 trees have been planted. The memorial is located near Salgado Filho International Airport (the airport from which Flight 3054 departed).


Legal action

On November 19, 2008, the 13,600-page police investigation was completed, which took 16 months of research to produce, during which 336 people were heard. Federal prosecutors were of the opinion that the former director of the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), Denise Abreu (who had taken up the post in March 2006), and the flight safety officer of the airline, Marco Aurelio dos Santos de Miranda, should both face criminal charges. In 2011, the Brazilian Federal Public Ministry (Ministério Público Federal—MPF) laid criminal charges against Abreu and Miranda, as well as Alberto Fajerman, TAM's vice president of operations. They were accused of neglecting air transport safety by allowing the aircraft to land in heavy rain on the notoriously short, recently resurfaced runway before cutting of grooves to channel away excess rainwater. The trial began in São Paulo in 2013. In 2014, MPF withdrew the charges against Fajerman, for lack of evidence. A second charge against Abreu of "documentary falsehood" was dismissed in November 2014. All of the accused were eventually acquitted of all charges. In 2014, TAM's insurer Itaú Seguros, the company responsible for paying compensation for the tragedy, launched a lawsuit in Brazil against Airbus for R$350 million (US$156.2 million), according to ''
Folha de S. Paulo ''Folha de S.Paulo'' (sometimes spelled ''Folha de São Paulo''), also known as simply ''Folha'' (, ''Sheet''), is a Brazilian daily newspaper founded in 1921 under the name ''Folha da Noite'' and published in São Paulo by the Folha da Manhã co ...
''. Attorneys representing Airbus responded in a Brazilian court filing that Airbus accepts no responsibility, laying the blame for the disaster with the cockpit crew, the airline and the poor state of the runway.


Notable victims

Among the victims were: * Júlio Redecker (aged 51), a
Brazilian Social Democracy Party The Brazilian Social Democracy Party (, PSDB), also known as the Brazilian Social Democratic Party or the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy,. is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Brazil. As the formerly third largest p ...
federal politician, member and leader of the opposition in the
Chamber of Deputies of Brazil The Chamber of Deputies () is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. The chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms. The current presiden ...
. * Paulo Rogério Amoretty Souza (aged 61), former chairman of the football team
Sport Club Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional, Inter de Porto Alegre, a cidade do Grêmio or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional Association football, football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Campeonato Bras ...
and attorney for
Sport Club Corinthians Paulista Sport Club Corinthians Paulista () is a Brazilian professional sports club based in São Paulo, in the district of Tatuapé. Although it competes in multiple sports modalities, it is best known for its professional men's Association football, f ...
. *
Márcio Rogério de Andrade Márcio is a Brazilian or Portuguese male personal name * Márcio Melo (1906-1991), general with the Brazilian air force * Márcio Rezende de Freitas (born 1960), Brazilian football referee * Márcio Bittencourt (born 1964), Brazilian football defe ...
(aged 35), former football player and
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
agent at the time of the crash. His spouse, his daughter and his brother-in-law also died in the disaster.


Dramatization

The documentary television series ''
Mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiz ...
'', also known as ''Air Disasters'', examined the crash and investigation in a Season 11 episode titled "Deadly Reputation" (and alternatively "Nightmare Runway" and "Disaster Runway"), which features interviews with investigators and a dramatic recreation of the accident.


See also

* Philippine Airlines Flight 137 – Another Airbus A320 that crashed nine years earlier under almost identical circumstances, with 3 fatalities *
S7 Airlines Flight 778 S7 Airlines Flight 778 (S7778/SBI778) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Moscow to Irkutsk, Russia. On 9 July 2006, at 06:44 local time (8 July, 22:44 UTC), the Airbus A310-324 aircraft operating the route overran the runway during ...
– An Airbus A310 that crashed one year earlier also with a deactivated thrust reverser, killing 125 people * TAP Flight 425 – A Boeing 727 that overran a runway and fell down an embankment, killing 131 *
Air India Express Flight 812 Air India Express Flight 812 was a scheduled international flight from Dubai International Airport, Dubai to Mangalore International Airport, Mangalore. On 22 May 2010, the Boeing 737-800 passenger jet operating the flight crashed on landing a ...
– A Boeing 737 that overran a tabletop runway and plunged into a ditch, killing 158 *
TACA Flight 390 TACA Flight 390 was a scheduled flight on May 30, 2008, by TACA International from San Salvador, El Salvador, to Miami, Florida, United States, with intermediate stops at Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula in Honduras. The aircraft, an Airbus A320 ...
– Another Airbus A320 that crashed into a neighborhood after overrunning the runway, killing 5 *
Jeju Air Flight 2216 Jeju Air Flight 2216 was a scheduled International flight, international passenger flight operated by Jeju Air from Suvarnabhumi Airport near Bangkok, Thailand, to Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Korea. On 29 December 2024, the ...
– A Boeing 737 that crashed into a concrete barrier after a belly landing and runway excursion, killing 179


References


Notes


Bibliography

*


External links

*
CENIPA The Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (, CENIPA) is a unit of the Brazilian Air Force that investigates aviation accidents and incidents in Brazil. It is headquartered in Brasília. See also * Gol Transportes Aéreos Fl ...
*
Final Report

Archive
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Final Report

Archive
* TAM Airlines *
Comunicados TAM
(Press releases from TAM regarding the incident)
Archive
*
TAM Informa
(Material from TAM Airlines about the incident) () *
Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety The Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (, BEA) is an agency of the French government, responsible for investigating aviation accidents and incidents and making safety recommendations based on what is learned from those inve ...
*
Accident in São Paulo on 17 July 2007Archive
*
Accident survenu à São Paulo le 17 juillet 2007

Archive

Press Release
-
German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation
" ''German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation ...

Archive
*
Cockpit Voice Recorder transcript and accident summary

In pictures: Brazil plane crash (BBC)

Video from Congonhas airport security camera, comparing a normal landing with TAM flight 3054's landing

The World's Worst Airline
- Elizabeth Spiers


List of passengers on Flight 3054Archive

Photographs

Archive
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