Varig Flight 820 Varig Flight 820 Varig Flight 820 was a flight of the Brazilian airline Varig that departed from Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 11, 1973, for Orly Airport, in Paris, France. The plane, a Boeing 707 registration PP-VJZ, made an emergency landing on onion fields about four kilometers from Orly Airport, due to smoke in the cabin from a fire in one of the toilets. The fire caused 123 deaths; there were only 11 survivors (ten crew members and one passenger). Flight 820's problems began when a fire started in a rear lavatory. Crew members moved
Varig a new competitor in the Brazilian market: Gol Airlines and increasing competition of VASP and Transbrasil fighting for survival by dumping fares. Furthermore, for the first time since 1961, Varig lost the first place in the domestic market share in terms of passengers/km for TAM Airlines. Later in the year, the September 11 attacks further increased operational and economic difficulties of Varig. In 2002, Ruben Berta Foundation merged the administration of Varig and its subsidiary Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais (which included the brand Nordeste Linhas Aéreas Regionais). The three brands were used separately with Rio-Sul and Nordeste providing feeder