physics

TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402

TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 rather than just read about it. In short: TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 was a scheduled domestic flight from Caxias do Sul, Brazil, to Recife International Airport in Recife, via São Paulo–Congonhas International Airport and Santos Dumont Airport in Rio de Janeiro. On 31 October 1996, at 08:27 (UTC-2), the thrust reverser was accidentally deployed on the starboard engine of the Fokker 100 operating the route while the aircraft was climbing awa…

Key takeaways

TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 was a scheduled domestic flight from Caxias do Sul, Brazil, to Recife International Airport in Recife, via São Paulo–Congonhas International Airport and Santos Dumont Airport in Rio de Janeiro. On 31 October 1996, at 08:27 (UTC-2), the thrust reverser was accidentally deployed on the starboard engine of the Fokker 100 operating the route while the aircraft was climbing away from runway 17R at Congonhas. The aircraft stalled and rolled beyond control to the right, then struck two buildings and crashed into several houses in a heavily populated area only 25 seconds after takeoff. All 95 people on board were killed, as well as another 4 on the ground. It is the fourth deadliest accident in Brazilian aviation history, the second at the time. It is also the deadliest aviation accident involving a Fokker 100.

Background

Aircraft The aircraft involved was a Fokker 100 with the registration PT-MRK. It was delivered to TAM in 1993, and was painted in a special livery to commemorate being awarded best regional carrier by Air Transport World.

Crew The captain was 35-year-old José Antonio Moreno, who had more than 9,000 hours of flight experience, including 3,000 hours on the Fokker 100. He graduated from Mogi-Mirim Airclub, situated in São Paulo, in 1987. The first officer was 27-year-old Ricardo Luis Gomes, who had 4,000 flight hours, with 160 of them on the Fokker 100. He graduated from Rio Claro Airclub, in São Paulo in 1988. There were also five flight attendants on board.

Accident

The safety system cable, responsible for pulling the power lever to the idle position, was no longer able to withstand the physical strain of being pulled one way by the actuator, while the copilot forced it the other way by pushing the throttle lever to the fully open position — the cable soon parted at a maintenance connection. With the lever no longer restrained by the safety system, the copilot continued to hold the right throttle fully open. The combination of the right engine at full thrust in reverse and the left engine still at normal forward take-off thrust caused the aircraft to roll violently to the right and descend into the ground.

Dramatization The crash was featured in the 15th season of the television documentary series Mayday in an episode titled "Carnage in São Paulo".

Illustrations

TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402

In research: TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1996 in Brazil, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by mechanical failure, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 in simple terms?

Why does TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402.