Varig Flight 820

Varig Flight 820
Deployment of emergency services at the crash site.
Accident
Date11 July 1973
SummaryBelly landing following in-flight fire of unknown source
SiteNear Orly Airport, Orly, Paris, France
48°45′N 2°24′E / 48.750°N 2.400°E / 48.750; 2.400
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 707-320C
OperatorVarig
IATA flight No.RG820
ICAO flight No.VRG820
Call signVARIG 820
RegistrationPP-VJZ
Flight originGaleão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
StopoverOrly Airport, Paris, France
DestinationHeathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
Occupants134
Passengers117
Crew17
Fatalities123
Injuries11
Survivors11

Varig Flight 820 was a flight of the Brazilian airline Varig that departed from Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 11 July 1973, for Orly Airport, in Paris, France. The plane, a Boeing 707, registration PP-VJZ, made an emergency landing in onion fields about five kilometres (3.1 mi; 2.7 nmi) from Orly Airport, due to smoke in the cabin from a fire in a lavatory. The fire caused 123 deaths; there were only 11 survivors (ten crew members and one passenger). Relief Captain Antonio Fuzimoto was the pilot who handled the controls and landed the plane in the field.[citation needed]