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On July 17, 2007, Brazil endured the worst aviation accident in the country’s history: the crash of a TAM Airlines plane, which left 199 people dead. The incident is also considered the biggest aviation tragedy in Latin America and is revisited in the Brazilian documentary series A Tragedy Foretold, releasing on Netflix on April 23 amid a recent uptick in concerns of aviation safety in the U.S.
On the day of the tragic crash, the aircraft—an Airbus A320 operated by TAM—failed to land properly at Congonhas Airport in São Paulo. It overran the runway and collided with a TAM building and a gas station on Washington Luís Avenue, causing an explosion.
When the TAM Airbus A320 tragedy occurred in 2007, Brazil was undergoing what became known as the “aviation blackout”—a crisis in the country’s civil aviation sector between 2006 and 2007, marked by massive delays, flight cancellations, and airport chaos, affecting millions of passengers.
The crisis was caused by a lack of investment in airport infrastructure and air traffic control—the result of years of budget cuts—and by low wages and poor working conditions for air traffic controllers. This led to strikes and work-to-rule protests (when strict adherence to procedures is used to slow down operations), all while passenger numbers were growing without proportional expansion of infrastructure.
The crisis worsened after the crash of Gol Flight 1907 on Sept. 29, 2006, which killed all passengers and crew onboard when it collided with another aircraft en route from Manaus to Brasília. This incident heightened insecurity among aviation professionals. Some air traffic controllers were suspended for investigation over potential operational errors. With no backups available, others had to cover for them, leading to even more strain. Controllers demanded better working conditions and the urgent hiring of more personnel.
The worst accident in Brazil’s aviation…
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