SÃO PAULO — 2007 · Major Tragedy

The TAM Flight 3054 Disaster

ClosedSources: ALast updated: 14 October 2026

On the evening of 17 July 2007, TAM Airlines Flight 3054, an Airbus A320 arriving from Porto Alegre, landed in rain at São Paulo's inner-city Congonhas Airport and failed to stop. It crossed the busy avenue at the end of the runway, struck a TAM Express warehouse next to a petrol station and exploded. All 187 people on board and 12 on the ground were killed; 27 people in the warehouse were injured. The deadliest air disaster in Brazilian and South American history, it raised questions about Congonhas, with its short runway, lack of safety areas and surface prone to standing water. In its 2009 final report, the Brazilian Air Force accident investigation centre CENIPA cited pilot error during the landing as the main cause.

Date: 2007
Place: Congonhas, Brazil, São Paulo, BR
Category: Major Tragedy
Case Status: Closed
Coordinates: -23.6250, -46.6620 ↗

Timeline of Events

17 July 2007The aircraft overran the runway and exploded against a warehouse.
July 2007The president declared three days of mourning.

28 July 2007The search of the wreckage was completed; identification continued.
September 2009CENIPA issued its final report.

Sources

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