Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907, was a passenger flight flying from Manaus to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On 29 September 2006, the Boeing 737-8EH operating the flight was involved in a midair collision with an Embraer Legacy 600 while cruising over the Amazon rainforest. The Embraer landed at a military base safely with no injuries on board, and minor damage to the left wingtip and horizontal stabilizer, but the Boeing lost flight path control and was completely destroyed by aerodynamic forces, killing all 154 occupants on board.

Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907

Accident summary
Date	29 September 2006
Summary	Mid-air collision
Place	200 km (120 mi; 110 nmi) east of Peixoto de Azevedo Mato Grosso, Brazil 10°29′S 53°15′W
Total fatalities	154
Total survivors	7
First aircraft
PR-GTD, the aircraft involved in the accident
Type	Boeing 737-8EH(SFP)
Airline/user	Gol Transportes Aéreos
Registration	PR-GTD
Flew from	Eduardo Gomes International Airport, Manaus, Brazil
Stopover	Brasília International Airport
Flying to	Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Passengers	148
Crew	6
Fatalities	154
Survivors	0
Second aircraft
N600XL, the Embraer Legacy 600 involved in the accident, later registered as XA-MHA
Type	Embraer Legacy 600
Airline/user	ExcelAire (delivery flight)
Registration	N600XL
Flew from	São José dos Campos Airport, Brazil
1st stopover	Eduardo Gomes International Airport, Brazil
2nd stopover	Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, Florida
Flying to	Long Island MacArthur Airport, Ronkonkoma, New York
Passengers	5
Crew	2
Fatalities	0
Survivors	7 (all)

Accident

The Embraer had a set computer-generated flight plan to Air Traffic Control for the run north to Manaus. This would take N600XL over Brasília, where airway UZ6 would lead the airplane to Manaus. The computer requested a climb to FL370. Until Brasília, that direction was slightly to the east side of magnetic north. Since the airway to Manaus required a westerly turn over Brasília, the computer proposed a descent to 36,000, since it was supposed to be at that flight level by that point.

GOL Flight 1907 rapidly approached from the opposite direction, also at FL370. The Legacy struck the Boeing about 30 feet and 2 feet to the left of the fuselage. Due to the speed at which both aircraft traveled, the Legacy’s winglet acted like a knife, slicing through the Boeing’s left wing about halfway out and severing the wing’s internal spar. On the cockpit voice recorder, the collision sequence sounded like a car crash. Instantly, the 737 twisted out of control, yawing and banking violently to the left and pitching straight down into a rotating vertical dive. The autopilot automatically disconnected and the bank angle warning activated.

The pilots fought to regain control, and extended the landing gear to slow the dive. 22 seconds into the plunge, the airplane’s overspeed clacker activated as the aircraft passed it's maximum rated dive speed. As the aircraft continued to spin rapidly, uncontrollably, the aircraft's load reached 4 Gs. 45 seconds into the dive, the first officer shouted in response to the aircraft breaking apart. Seven seconds later, the Boeing broke into three parts, which plummeted into the forest below.

Passenger remains were found to be several inches deep in the dirt as a result of the impact forces.

Pilot-in-command of the Embraer, Captain Lepore, immediately declared an emergency to ATC, and took control. The aircraft landed safely at Cachimbo Airbase following careful flight.

Final tally of passenger nationalities
Nationality	Passengers	Crew	Total
Argentina	10	0	10
United Kingdom	1	0	1
United States	6	0	6
Uruguay	2	0	2
Mexico	5	0	5
Paraguay	3	0	3
Peru	1	0	1
France	4	0	4
Germany	1	0	1
Italy	1	0	1
Venezuela	4	0	4
Australia	3	0	3
Bolivia	3	0	3
Canada	3	0	3
Colombia	3	0	3
Dominican Republic	1	0	1
Chile	2	0	2
Portugal	2	0	2
Spain	2	0	2
South Africa	2	0	2
Japan	1	0	1
Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 Media Approximate flight paths from flight origins to crash site   Boeing southeast bound   Embraer northwest bound Damage to the Legacy's left side The undamaged right side of the Legacy, for comparison The Boeing's flight data recorder The Boeing's cockpit voice recorder memory module was found embedded in the soil, after four weeks of intensive searching. IFR high altitude en route chart section of Brasília area, depicting UW2, UZ6 airways Investigation committee president Col. Rufino Antônio da Silva Ferreira presents the preliminary findings on 16 November 2006. IFR high-altitude en route chart section of Teres fix area, depicting UZ6 airway and Cachimbo air base; crash site is between Nabol and Istar fixes on UZ6 This Boeing 747-400, (registration number N453PA), operated Polar 71, which helped provide radio relay and translation assistance for the crippled Embraer jet Diagram of impact – 1. Impact;2. Hydraulic lines; 3. Control surfaces. Brazil||105||6||111
Total	148	6	154