[4] Beginning on the morning of 12 April, the flight was scheduled to fly from Belém to Porto Alegre, with stops in Fortaleza, Brasília, Vitória, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Curitiba and Florianópolis.

[4] After reaching Florianópolis' non-directional beacon (NDB), located near the Hercílio Luz bridge, the Boeing 727 descended from 3,000 to 2,000 feet (910 to 610 m) and began its landing approach.

During the night, the four survivors were removed by helicopter to hospitals in Florianópolis while the bodies of the passengers and dead crew were gathered to be transported to the Instituto Médico Legal.

The bad weather caused delay in the flight and the incidence of lightning hampered the operation of the NDB of Florianópolis, generating a false block of position, which impaired the judgment of the crew.

When approaching the landing in an incorrect location (caused by the false NDB readings), the aircraft flew below the safety limit of that region, about 60 metres (200 ft) high, and collided with Morro da Virgínia, hitting the trees until it reached the north side of the hill.

[5] In order not to fail (in mid-1987, Transbrasil had a debt of about US$120 million), the airline accepted to receive large financial contributions from the Brazilian government that came to intervene in the direction of the company between 1988 and 1989.