All 3 crew members, consisting of the captain, the first officer, and a flight engineer died; there were no survivors.

Flight 527 departed Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport at 21:27 UTC and was instructed by air traffic control (ATC) to climb to 2,000 feet (610 m) and to turn toward the Caxias VHF omnidirectional range (VOR).

Shortly after this transmission, the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) activated and at 21:32 UTC the aircraft flew against a bunch of trees and crashed into a mountain, leaving a trail of debris 800 metres (2,600 ft) long.

Normally, the release includes a departure route to a so-called clearance limit, up to which the aircraft is allowed to fly at most.

In the clearance for LH527 this information was missing, so the crew continued to fly on the set course instead of asking air traffic control for new instructions.