TAM flight 402 was a regular flight between São Paulo (CGH) and Rio de Janeiro (SDU).

At 08:25 the flight received clearance for takeoff from runway 17R. Wind was given as 060
degrees.

At 08:26:00 the throttles were advanced for takeoff power.

Ten seconds later a double beep was heard. The captain said "O auto-throttle tá fora" and the
copilot adjusted the throttles manually and informed the captain: "thrust check". With this
information he confirmed that the takeoff power had been adjusted and verified.

At 08:26:19 the airplane accelerated through 80 kts.

At 08:26:32 the copilot indicated "V one".

Two seconds later the airplane rotated at a speed of 131 kts.

At 08:26:36 the air/ground switch transited from "ground" "to "air". The speed was 136 kts and the
airplane was climbing at an angle of 10 degrees. At that same moment a shock was felt and the
EPR of engine no. 2 dropped from 1.69 to 1.34, indicating the loss of power. In fact, the no. 2
engine thrust reverser had deployed. An eye witness confirmed to have seen at least two
complete cycles of opening and closing of the no. 2 thrust reverser buckets during the flight. The
loss of power on the right side caused the plane to roll to the right. The captain applied left
rudder and left aileron to counteract the movement of the plane. The copilot advanced both
thrust levers, but they retarded again almost immediately, causing the power of the no. 1 engine
to drop to 1.328 EPR and engine no. 2 to 1,133 EPR. Both crew members were preoccupied by the
movement of the throttles and did not know that the thrust reverser on the no. 2 engine had
deployed. The throttles were forced forward again.

At 08:26:44 the captain ordered the autothrottle to be disengaged. One second later the no. 2
thrust lever retarded again and remained at idle for two seconds. The airspeed fell to 126 kts.

At 08:26:48 the copilot announced that he had disengaged the autothrottles. He then jammed the
no. 2 thrust lever fully forward again. Both engines now reached 1,724 EPR. With the thrust
reverser deployed, the airspeed declined at 2 kts per second.
At 08:26:55 the stick shaker activated, warning of an impeding stall. The airplane rolled to a 39
degree bank angle and the GPWS activated: "Don't sink!".

Seven seconds later the airplane impacted a building and crashed into a heavily populated
neighborhood.