Varig Flight 967 was an international cargo flight from Narita International Airport in Japan to Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport in Brazil, with a stopover at Los Angeles International Airport in the United States. On 30 January 1979, the Boeing 707 serving the flight disappeared while en route to Los Angeles with radio contact being lost an hour into the flight. Neither the aircraft nor its six crew members have ever been found.
Background
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 707-323C, construction number 19235, line number 519, delivered new to American Airlines and registered as N7562A on 31 August 1966. The aircraft was operated under its cargo subsidiary before being sold to Varig Cargo on 28 March 1974 and re-registered as PP-VLU. The jet was powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B engines.
Flight crew
The flight crew consisted of Captain Gilberto Araújo da Silva, 55, First Officer Erni Peixoto Mylius, 45, Second Officers Antonio Brasileiro da Silva Neto, 39, Evan Braga Saunders, 37, and Flight Engineers José Severino Gusmão de Araújo, 42, and Nicola Exposito, 40.
In 1973, Captain Araújo da Silva was the Captain of Varig Flight 820, a Boeing 707 carrying 134 people that made an emergency landing due to a fire before it was due to land at Orly Airport in Paris, with the loss of 123 passengers and crew. In 1979, at the time of disappearance, he had more than 23,000 hours logged.
Disappearance
On 30 January 1979, PP-VLU disappeared en route from Narita International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport while operating as Varig Flight 967. Its ultimate destination was Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport.
The flight took off at 20:23 from Narita International Airport. The last radio contact with the flight was at 20:45. The flight crew were expected to radio at 21:23, but they did not do so. Radio contact was lost about 200 km (120 mi) ENE of Tokyo.
The cargo included 53 paintings by Manabu Mabe returning from an exhibition in Tokyo, valued at US$1.24 million. The wreckage, paintings, and bodies of the crew were never found.