37 years ago, on September 3, 1989, Varig Flight 254 crashed in the Amazon Forest after spending hours lost during the journey between Marabá and Belém, in Pará. The Boeing 737 was carrying 54 people and was supposed to complete the route in less than an hour. In total, 12 people died and 42 survived.
The route error was caused by an incorrect interpretation of the heading indication. In Marabá, the flight plan indicated the course to Belém as "0270," which should have been read as 027.0 degrees. The pilots, however, interpreted it as 270 degrees, causing the aircraft to take off toward the West when it should have headed Northeast.
Commander César Augusto Padula Garcez and co-pilot Nilson de Souza Zille took command only in the final leg. The plane had departed from Guarulhos that morning and had made stops in Uberaba, Uberlândia, Goiânia, Brasília, Imperatriz, and Marabá. Without GPS or inertial navigation system, the crew relied on simpler instruments, which contributed to the worsening of the situation.
