Varig Cargo flight 967

The disappearance of Varig Cargo flight 967 on the evening of 30 January 1979, has given rise to a number of conspiracy theories, mostly in Brazil. The investigation at the time yielded no results and no efforts to reveal the causes of the accident ensued. The theories concern the possible shootdown of the aircraft by a hostile military, such as the Soviets’, especially due to the proximity of the intended flight path to Soviet airspace. Another source of speculation is the contents of the aircraft’s cargo hold, which is believed by conspiracy theorists to have been loaded with a disassembled fighter jet that was targeted by the Soviet Union. None of these claims have been corroborated by any actual evidence, and, to date, no declassified government records have shed any new light on these allegations of sabotage or of military action. However, delusional theories persist since no physical evidence pertaining to the fate of the aircraft or of the crew involved has ever been found in the years since the airplane was last seen.