KLM Royal Dutch Airlines - Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Batavia – Jodhpur – Bushehr - Baghdad – Amsterdam

MSN:

1359

YOM:

1935

Location:

Bushehr

Country:

Iran

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

During the takeoff roll at Bushehr Airport, after a distance of some 300 metres and running at a speed of 120 km/h, the aircraft named 'Maraboe' hit an unevenness on the runway surface. The right main gear broke off and a fuel line was cut. The aircraft went out of control, swerved on runway and eventually came to rest, bursting into flames. All 11 occupants evacuated safely and the airplane was destroyed by fire.

Probable cause:

Undercarriage failure upon takeoff following an impact with an unevenness on the runway surface.

Crash of a Fokker F22 in Amsterdam: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jul 14, 1935 at 0940 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fokker F22

Operator:

Registration:

PH-AJQ

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Amsterdam – Hamburg – Copenhagen – Malmö

MSN:

5358

YOM:

1935

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

2200

Aircraft flight hours:

Circumstances:

Three minutes after takeoff, while in initial climb, both left engines lost power. The captain decided to return to Schiphol Airport but during the last turn, the aircraft stalled and crashed on an embankment located along the A4 highway, bursting into flames. Four crew members, among them Captain H. Silberstein, and two passengers (Mr. Hodson & Newman) were killed. 14 other occupants were injured.
Crew:
Heinz Silberstein, pilot,
G. F. Nieboer, radio,
G. Brom, engineer,
L. J. van Dijk, engineer,
J. Haberer, steward.

Probable cause:

Technical problems occurred on both left engines during initial climb due to a low fuel transfer. The crew should use the fuel pump manually but the flight conditions were difficult, so the low pressure on both left engine could not be resolved. The crew left the fuel tap on the manual position which may be considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of a Fokker F12 near Brilon: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 6, 1935 at 1518 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fokker F12

Operator:

Registration:

PH-AFL

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Landing (descent or approach)

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Prague – Leipzig – Essen – Amsterdam – Rotterdam

MSN:

5242

YOM:

1930

Flight number:

KL676

Location:

Brilon

North Rhine-Westphalia

Country:

Germany

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The three engine aircraft named 'Leeuwerik' departed Leipzig-Halle Airport at 1314LT, carrying two passengers and five crew members. At 1435LT, the radio navigator informed ground about his position some 10 km north of Kassel. Five minutes later, while cruising at a height of 1,000 metres, he reported poor weather conditions and low visibility due to heavy snow falls. He also requested a weather bulletin for Essen, the next stop before Amsterdam. The captain reduced his altitude to 450 metres and completed two successive turns when the aircraft impacted the side of a hilly terrain located some 15 km east of Brilon. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire. All seven occupants were killed.
Crew:
P. Soer, pilot,
E. A. J. Prillwitz, copilot,
P. Welman,
H. Wingelaar.
Th. J. van den Klein, engineer.
Passengers:
H. L. A. Briel,
W. de Vlugt.

Probable cause:

It is the opinion of the Accident Investigation Board that at the time of the accident, the horizontal visibility was reduced to 80 meters due to snow falls. In such conditions, crew was unable to distinguish the ground and to establish his real position to continue then flight in a safely manner.

Crash of a Douglas DC-2-115A in Ruţbah Wells: 7 killed

Date & Time: Dec 20, 1934 at 0333 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas DC-2

Operator:

Registration:

PH-AJU

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Desert

Schedule:

Amsterdam – Marseille – Rome – Athens – Cairo – Baghdad – Karachi – Yangon – Singapore – Batavia

MSN:

1317

YOM:

1934

Location:

Ruţbah Wells (Ar Ruţbah)

Al-Anbar (الأنبار)

Country:

Iraq

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

284

Circumstances:

The crew departed Cairo-Almaza Airport at 2330LT bound for Baghdad. While overflying the Iraqi Desert at night, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and decided to divert to Ruţbah Wells. On approach, the aircraft was at full power when it impacted the ground in a 17° right bank angle and 12° nose down attitude. The aircraft crashed and exploded some 16 km from the Ruţbah Wells Airfield. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all seven occupants were killed.
Crew:
Wilhelm Marie Okko Anne Beekman, pilot,
Jan Johannes van Steenbergen, copilot,
Hendrik Abraham Waalewijn, engineer,
Gysbert van Zadelhoff, radio navigator.
Passengers:
Dominique Willem Berretty,
E. W. Walch,
Jacob Thymen Kort.

Probable cause:

The cause of the accident is probably not related to a fire, in-flight break-up or lightning, nor related to failures of a technical nature. It is very likely that the very unfavorable weather conditions along with less favorable handling characteristics of the airplane in severe turbulence and fatigue of the pilot have resulted in a collision with the ground, which caused the catastrophe.

Crash of a Koolhoven FK.43 in Groningen

Date & Time: May 26, 1933 at 1600 LT

Type of aircraft:

Koolhoven FK.43

Operator:

Registration:

PH-AIL

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Amsterdam – De Kooy – Groningen – Amsterdam

MSN:

4302

YOM:

1932

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was performing a round training flight from Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport with stops in De Kooy and Groningen. Shortly after takeoff from Groningen-Eelde Airport, while climbing to a height of 150 metres, the crew made a turn to the left when it lost control of the aircraft that stalled and crashed in a field. While both occupants were slightly injured, the aircraft named 'Luis' was destroyed.

Crash of a Fokker F7b/3m in Bangkok: 6 killed

Date & Time: Dec 6, 1931 at 0546 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fokker F7

Operator:

Registration:

PH-AFO

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Melbourne – Alor Setar – Bangkok – Yangon – Amsterdam

MSN:

5236

YOM:

1930

Location:

Bangkok-Don Mueang

Bangkok City District

Country:

Thailand

Region:

Landing (descent or approach)

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft was carrying three passengers, a crew of four and 209 kilos of mail. Two takeoff attempts were rejected because the aircraft was too heavy. In such conditions, the captain decided to start the takeoff roll from a further point at the airport. On the third attempt, after a course of 1,500 metres, the aircraft impacted a dirt bank. The undercarriage were torn off and the airplane crashed. The radio operator was seriously injured and all six other occupants were killed.
Crew:
Thaeke Wiersma, pilot,
Jan van Onlangs, copilot,
G. van Zadelhoff, radio operator,
J. F. W. O. Kotte, mechanic.

Probable cause:

The total weight of the aircraft was too high at the time of the accident, this explain why the airplane was unable to leave the ground. Additionally, it appears that a cockpit panel was improperly secured during the takeoff roll that was completed in heavy rain falls, which was considered as a contributory factor.

Crash of a Fokker F9 in Rotterdam

Date & Time: Aug 4, 1931 at 1210 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fokker F9

Operator:

Registration:

PH-AFK

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Marmara Region (Marmara Bölgesi)

Schedule:

London – Rotterdam – Amsterdam

MSN:

5241

YOM:

1930

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Shortly after takeoff from Rotterdam-Waalhaven Airport, bound for Amsterdam-Schiphol, the crew encountered technical problems with the engine n°1. The captain decided to return to the airport when the engine n°3 lost power. On final approach, at a speed of 100 km/h, the airplane lost height and impacted a 7 metres high light pole, causing the left wing to be partially torn off. The airplane stalled and crashed on a railway line. All 13 passengers evacuated safely while both crew members were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

Probable cause:

The exact cause of the n°1 engine failure could not be determined but investigators did not exclude the possibility that it was the consequence of a technical issue with the fuel system.

Crash of a Fokker F7b/3m near Istanbul

Date & Time: Oct 19, 1929

Type of aircraft:

Fokker F7

Operator:

Registration:

PH-AGB

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Amsterdam – Istanbul – Aleppo – Batavia

MSN:

5179

YOM:

1929

Location:

Istanbul-Yeşilköy

Country:

Turkey

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

About one hour and 30 minutes after takeoff from Istanbul-Yeşilköy Airport, bound for Aleppo, the left engine failed. The crew decided to return to Istanbul but the visibility was poor due to fog. While attempting an emergency landing, the aircraft hit trees and crashed in bushes south of Yeşilköy Airfield. While the copilot and the engineer were slightly injured, the captain was unhurt. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

Failure of the left engine in flight.

Crash of a Fokker F3 off Rotterdam: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jul 24, 1928 at 1450 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fokker F3

Operator:

Registration:

H-NABR

Flight Phase:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Flight Type:

Survivors: