| Varig Flight 837 | |
| Type: | Controlled flight into terrain caused by pilot error |
| Occurrence Type: | Accident |
| Site: | Roberts International Airport, Harbel, Liberia |
| Coordinates: | 6.207°N -10.379°W |
| Total Fatalities: | 56 (5 ground fatalities) |
| Fatalities: | 51 |
| Aircraft Type: | Douglas DC-8-33 |
| Operator: | Varig |
| Tail Number: | PP-PEA |
| Passengers: | 71 |
| Crew: | 19 |
| Survivors: | 39 |
| Origin: | Beirut International Airport, Beirut, Lebanon |
| Stopover0: | Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Italy |
| Stopover1: | Roberts International Airport, Monrovia, Liberia |
| Destination: | Galeão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Ground Fatalities: | 5 |
Varig Flight 837 was a flight from Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Italy to Galeão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, originating in Beirut, Lebanon, and with a stop in Monrovia, Liberia. On 5 March 1967, due to pilot error, the flight crashed during approach to Runway 04 of Roberts International Airport.[1] Of the 71 passengers and 19 crew on board, 50 passengers and the flight engineer perished. In addition, 5 people on the ground were also killed. The aircraft caught fire and was written off. This is the worst aviation accident in Liberia to this day.[2] [3]
Investigators determined the probable cause of the crash to be "The failure of the pilot-in-command to arrest in time the fast descent at a low altitude upon which he had erroneously decided, instead of executing a missed approach when he found himself too high over the locator beacon."[4]