About: Varig Flight 254

Varig Flight 254 was a Boeing 737-241, c/n 21006/398, registration PP-VMK, on a scheduled passenger flight from São Paulo, Brazil, to Belém, capital city of the state of Pará in the country's North Region, on 3 September 1989. The flight had several intermediate stopovers, the last being in Marabá, Pará. Prior to takeoff from Marabá, the crew entered an incorrect heading into the flight computer, flying deep into a remote area of the Amazon jungle. Attempts to reach an alternative airport were unsuccessful, and the plane eventually ran out of fuel, making a belly landing in the jungle 1,700 kilometres (920 nautical miles) northwest of Rio de Janeiro. Of the 54 passengers and crew, 12 passengers died and many more sustained serious injuries. The survivors were rescued two days later.