Varig Varig VARIG (acronym for Viação Aérea RIo-Grandense, "Rio Grandean Airways") was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline, and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went into judicial re-organisation, and in 2006 it was split into two companies – Flex Linhas Aéreas, informally known as "old" Varig, heir to the original airline and now defunct, and "new" Varig, a new company fully integrated into Gol Airlines. "Sociedade Anônima Empresa de Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense – VARIG" was the first national airline established in Brazil. It was founded on in
Varig Flight 254 (270°). The Boeing 737 was not equipped with INS, using only automatic direction finders (ADF) and VOR. Months after the accident, the flight plan VARIG 254 used was shown to 21 pilots of major airlines in the world during a test conducted by the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA). No fewer than 15 pilots committed the same mistake that the VARIG flight 254 crew had made. After the flight 254 accident, VARIG would install Omega navigation systems in their aircraft. Also, there were several contributing factors to the accident: the pilot did not realise he should be