Report: All Aboard – Same pilot who survived crash disappears on mysterious plane 6 years later

48 years ago, the tragedy of flight RG820 took place, which crashed shortly before landing in Paris (France), killing 123 people. About six years later, another flight, RG967, disappeared while flying across the Pacific Ocean.

Jointly, the two flights were carried out by the extinct company Varig (Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense), with pilot Gilberto Araújo da Silva as commander. Although he survived the first crash, he disappeared in the second crash, which is considered one of aviation’s greatest mysteries to date.

The commander is considered one of the few pilots in the world to be involved in two fatal crashes.

Who was Silva?

Paraibano, Silva was born on 12 November 1923 in the municipality of Santa Luzia. Around the age of 20, he began working in the maintenance of aircraft for the Goiás government.

The eldest daughter, who tells the story of Silva, is the doctor Maria Leticia Freitas Silva Chavarria. He says his father’s entry into aviation was due to the influence of the pilot’s uncle, the great aviator Filon Ferrer Araújo, who worked in Goiânia.

He soon started working at the Goiânia air club, took a piloting course, and got his license in 1943. Silva then flew to Fundação Brasil Central, near the banks of the Xingu River, where he took his fellow countrymen, the Villas-Bôas, across. interior of the country.

Years later, he started commercial aviation on the Viação Aérea Baiana and even became a pilot for the Minas Gerais government. He started flying Varig in the 1960s after his company, Real Aerovias Nacional, was bought by the airline when it moved to São Paulo.

At Varig he piloted the Boeing 707, an aircraft for which in the 1970s he was promoted to master command, the highest level in the hierarchy among pilots.

In 1973, as he avoided a major tragedy involving flight RG820 (see more details below), Silva became a hero in that country by the Brazilian government and the French Ministry of Transport.

In 1979, it was assumed that he died after the disappearance of flight RG967.

Orly Disaster

In July 1973, Silva was in command of flight RG820 from Brazil to Orly airport in France. As the Boeing 707 was approaching for landing, a fire broke out in the bathroom, allegedly caused by an accidentally thrown cigarette.

The crew chose to land the plane in an onion field near the airport threshold to avoid an even greater tragedy. With this, they prevented the plane from reaching a village, as it would barely reach the landing strip.

The commander’s decision to move the plane away from settlements was caused by an accident that occurred a month ago in France.

In June 1973, a Tupolev Tu-144 aircraft participating in demonstrations during the Paris Air Show crashed into homes, killing its entire crew, several on the ground, and injuring dozens.

The RG820 pilots did not want to repeat the tragedy, and Commander Silva had to stick his head out of the plane’s window to see ahead as the cabin filled with smoke.

“Since we won’t survive, we’re not going to kill any more people there,” the pilot said.

Only 11 people survived, and more than 120 died, including then-senator Filinto Müller and singer Agostinho dos Santos. Some of the people died of suffocation from the smoke, but not from the fall itself or the fire.

After this accident, aviation safety standards began to be reviewed, including the adoption of flame retardant fabrics in aircraft.

The Disappearance of Varig Flight 967 with Expensive Artworks

Flight Varig 967 departed from Narita airport in Japan to Galeão airport in Rio de Janeiro in January 1979, making a stopover in Los Angeles (USA). Silva was the commander of the aircraft.

The Boeing 707 featured electronics, sewing machines, ship parts, and paintings by Japanese-Brazilian artist Manabu Mabe, valued at the time US$1.2 million.

The plane contacted air traffic control about 22 minutes after takeoff. This was standard communication and another had to be made about an hour before the flight, which did not happen.

The plane is believed to have crashed into the Pacific Ocean because to date no debris, bodies or signs of the accident have been found.

Various conspiracy theories emerged, such as the plane being attacked to steal the artwork or the pilots being shot down or killed after a landing by accidentally entering Soviet airspace.

However, the mainstream explaining the disappearance is that there was a slow decompression in the cabin and the crew lost consciousness. After flying for a while on autopilot, the plane would crash into the ocean.