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Cumbica Airport opened in January 1985 amidst ongoing construction and operational challenges, quickly becoming the hub for VASP, Brazil’s second-largest airline. The airline capitalized on this new beginning by changing its branding and aircraft designs, with the first airplane to exhibit its new colors being the Boeing 737-200 registered as Papa Sierra Mike Echo.
On January 28, 1986, merely 10 days after the one-year anniversary of Cumbica’s inauguration, that same aircraft was preparing for what should have been a straightforward flight. However, heavy fog blanketed the area, reducing visibility and complicating the taxiing process.