Lóide Aéreo Nacional S/A was a Brazilian airline founded in 1947 as Transporte Carga Aérea (TCA). It was renamed Lóide Aéreo Nacional in 1949, after it merged with
Linhas Aéreas Paulistas (LAP) and
Transportes Aéreos Bandeirantes (TABA). It operated until 1962 when it was incorporated into
VASP.
History
On December 22, 1947, Ruy Vacani founded the airline TCA – Transportes Carga Aérea S.A. in
Anápolis, State of
Goiás,
Brazil, an airline specialized in transportation of cargo. Previously, in 1928, Vacani had also founded
ETA - Empresa de Transporte Aéreo an airline that lasted for only for one year, being sold to
NYRBA do Brasil. Vacani had good political connections with the then president
Getúlio Vargas, who apparently favored his business. Shareholders of the airline also included Roberto Taves, one of the founders of
Aerovias Brasil and Colonel Marcílio Jacques Gibson who in 1976 founded
TABA – Transportes Aéreos da Bacia Amazônica.[1]
On August 24, 1949, TCA had its name changed to Lóide Aéreo Nacional and started regular passenger flights using
Curtiss C-46 Commando aircraft, flying from
Rio de Janeiro to
São Luís or
Fortaleza with intermediate stops. Its operations later grew to include the whole Brazilian territory.
Between 1956 and 1958 Lóide Aéreo Nacional and
Panair do Brasil had an agreement to avoid harmful competition, in which the Brazilian territory was divided into areas of influence. It also included leasing of aircraft.
Business started to decline in 1960 and finally, in 1962 Lóide Aéreo Nacional was sold and merged into
VASP.
Destinations
In January 1956, the network of Lóide Aéreo Nacional comprised 22 locations [where?].
29 July 1951: a
Curtiss C-46A-10-CU Commando registration CB-39, flying from
Cochabamba to
Rio de Janeiro, probably operating a delivery ferry-flight still bearing the Bolivian registration number, crashed upon take-off. All 7 occupants died.[6]
1 February 1958: a
Douglas DC-4 registration PP-LEM operating the night flight 730 to
Fortaleza, during takeoff from
Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont experienced a failure on engine no. 4. Takeoff was aborted and 100m before the end of the runway, a tire from the landing gear burst, causing the aircraft to run off the side of the runway and burst into flames. Of the 72 passengers and crew aboard, 5 died.[9][10]
11 August 1958: a
Douglas DC-4 registration PP-LEQ crashed for unknown causes over Carapí Island,
Pará while on a night time visual approach to
Belém-Val de Cans. Of the 11 passengers and crew aboard, 1 passenger survived.[11][12]
^Pereira, Aldo (1987). Breve história da aviação comercial brasileira (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro: Europa. pp. 308–313.
^Instituto Histórico-Cultural da Aeronáutica (2005). História Geral da Aeronáutica Brasileira: de janeiro de 1946 a janeiro de 1956 após o término da Segunda Guerra Mundial até a posse do Dr. Juscelino Kubitschek como Presidente da República (in Portuguese). Vol. 4. Rio de Janeiro: GR3 Comunicação & Design. p. 345.
^Pereira, Aldo (1987). Breve História da Aviação Comercial Brasileira (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro: Europa. pp. 314–315.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Linhas Aéreas Paulistas". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928-1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 108–111.
ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Lima delta xadrez". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928-1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. p. 170.
ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "O senhor do céu". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928-1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 162–164.
ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "O senhor do céu". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928-1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. p. 164.
ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Lima delta xadrez". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928-1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 169–170.
ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.