An Airbus A320-232 was under tow at the airport of São Paulo-Congonhas Airport (officially known as Deputado Freitas Nobre Airport) on this day in 2018. The aircraft was being towed from the company's maintenance hangar to a parking position prior to its next commercial flight, on Ramp 3, via taxi track TLX or TLW.
The damaged tail section of the aircraft in the trees (source; www.airliners.net © Unknown)
It is unclear what exactly transpired, there are several "stories" around on the internet, but in absence of an investigation report, the following scenarios can be found on the internet
;At some point during the towing operation the towbar, that connects the aircraft to the towtruck failed or got disconnected.
The brakes on the tow truck failed during the towing of the aircraft.
Whichever one of the scenarios occurred the end result was bad for the aircraft.
The aircraft in the trees (© Reprodução/TV Globo)
It rolled backwards over some distance and hit a group of trees to the west of Ramp 3. It is unclear who was onboard the aircraft and if their was anybody on the fligthdeck. What is clear is that the aircraft was not stopped using the aircraft brakes.
The result of what happened is clear, serious damage to the tail section of the aircraft was the result. Especially the righthand horizontal stabiliser suffered extensive damage. Damage to the 18 years and 4 months old aircraft was so extensive that it was written off as damaged beyond repair. According to sources, the aircraft has been put into storage since the incident.
The aircraft in the trees (© Reprodução/TV Globo)
** Editorial note **
V2 Aviation - Training & Maintenance has not been able to obtain an investigation report on this accident. This blog is therefore based on several internet sources. Should there be an inconsistency in the blog or do you have additional information on this incident? Don't hesitate to get in touch with us. There are two possibilities to do that, via the comments function at the bottom of this page or via the contact page of the website.
Video was taken just after the accident (Source; www.youtube.com Aida Suarez)