46 years have passed since the plane ‘crash’ at Madeira airport

Tobi Hughes·
Madeira News

123 dead and 39 hospitalized injured. This was the assessment made by DIÁRIO, in the edition of November 20, 1977, regarding the crash of a TAP plane on the runway at Santa Catarina Airport, as the now Madeira International Airport was called at that time.

The Boeing 727 was completely destroyed after having ‘slipped’ on the Santa Catarina runway, on a night of intense rain, which had even led to the temporary closure of the airport. The plane landed in the direction Machico – Santa Cruz, climbed the last threshold of the runway, ending up flying over the adjacent section of EN 101, crashing a few meters further on the Santa Cruz municipal road, crashing onto the pebble area.

The fatal victims would end up being taken to the Chapel of Misericórdia, in Santa Cruz. The trip connected Brussels to Madeira, with a stop in Lisbon. The aircraft actually ended up catching fire, given the brutality of the accident, but there were those who survived. The injured would be transported to the hospital in ambulances from the Santa Cruz Municipal Fire Department, but also in taxis and private cars, which arrived at the scene with the aim of helping possible victims.

On the Santa Cruz promenade, next to the airport, there is a monument in memory of these victims. Built with some debris from this accident, it is a constant reminder of what happened.

From Diário Notícias

(As we all know the monument has been in a terrible state, and probably still is, unless they tidied it up after the recent work that has been completed in that area.) 

 

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Tobi Hughes

6 Responses

  1. I remember this disaster with such clarity and sadness. God bless the survivors and families who still suffer and can/will never forget.

    1. I worked for a tour operator at that time and remember the horror and sorrow that swept through the building on hearing the sad news.
      We have come to Madeira many times over the years since then and I must admit I always get a moment of relief on landing.

      1. I remember my first landing, which was at night, and before the first accident. the runway was less than a mile long. I couldn’t understand how we could be flying so low for so long, with the lights of all the homes above us. The braking was ‘fun’ too. What a feat of engineering the runway is now.

  2. I flew into Funchal for my first holiday in Madeira only a few days after the airport was reopened. In those days the runway was so short that planes had to make a turn at the end before eventually coming to a standstill, and debris from this terrible tragedy was still clear to see.

    1. I can’t imagine anything worse than that. Hope you still go back, although the entire island has changed completely since what I call ‘the good old days’. Everything is motorways now. I loved the old country roads and buses.

  3. My to I was 7 years old and live in the bottom of the airport before being expand it was a place full of houses and quintas and farm land and mine was in the bottom where is the new car park . I remember early in the morning the burning smell that did last for many days not a very nice atmosphere in that days local people in shock and traumatized with the accident .

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