KLM - Incidents and Accidents

Incidents and Accidents

For sourcing and full list of accidents from 1943 see:Aviation safety database

This list does not include KLM cityhopper, which had two accidents: NLM CityHopper Flight 431 in 1981 and KLM Cityhopper Flight 433 in 1994.

The most notable accident in which a KLM flight has been involved was the 1977 Tenerife disaster. After this accident KLM flights have not led to fatalities.

Accidents involving fatalities

• On 24 April 1923, Fokker F.III H-NABS departed Lympne for Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The aircraft was not heard of again. It was presumed to have crashed into the sea, killing the pilot and both passengers.
• On 22 August 1927, Fokker F.VIII H-NADU crashed near Sevenoaks, England. One crewmember was killed.
• On 20 December 1934, KLM Douglas DC-2, PH-AJU "Uiver" crashed at Rutbah Wells, Iraq, killing all occupants. It participated in the Mac Robertson Air Race in October 1934 and won the handicap division. It had returned to the Netherlands in November and the crew were heroes. It was on its first flight after return from the race and was en route to the Netherlands Indies carrying the Christmas mail.
• On 14 July 1935, KLM Fokker F.XXII PH-AJQ "Kwikstaart" crashed and burned just outside Schiphol, killing four crew and two passengers – 14 other occupants survived.

• On 20 July 1935, KLM Douglas DC-2, PH-AKG "Gaai" crashed in an Alpine pass in the San Bernardino Pass near Pian San Giacomo, killing all three crew and all ten passengers.

• On 9 December 1936, KLM Douglas DC-2, PH-AKL crashed into a house after taking off from Croydon Airport, London the accident killed 15 out of 17 on board the DC-2 (see 1936 KLM Croydon accident)

• On 28 December 1941, KNILM Douglas DC-3, PK-ALN (formerly KLM PH-ALN) "Nandoe" was destroyed on the ground by Japanese fighters at Medan, North Sumatra, Dutch East Indies, killing all crew members and passengers.

• On 1 June 1943, the BOAC Douglas DC-3 (formerly KLM PH-ALI) "Ibis" was shot down by eight German Junkers Ju-88 fighters over the Gulf of Biskay while on the scheduled route Lisbon-Bristol. All thirteen passengers and four KLM crewmembers perished. For more information see: BOAC Flight 777.

• On 14 November 1946 – A KLM Douglas C-47 crashed at Schiphol Airport, caused by a failed landing in bad weather. All 21 passengers and the 5 crew were killed. One passenger was the Dutch writer Herman de Man.
• On 26 January 1947, KLM Douglas Dakota PH-TCR crashed after takeoff from Copenhagen, killing all 22 on board, including Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden.
• On 20 October 1948, KLM Lockheed Constellation PH-TEN "Nijmegen" crashed near Prestwick, Scotland, killing all 40 aboard.
• On 23 June 1949, KLM Lockheed Constellation PH-TER "Roermond", piloted by Hans Plesman (the son of CEO Albert Plesman) crashed into the sea off Bari, killing 33 occupants.
• On 12 July 1949, KLM Lockheed Constellation PH-TDF "Franeker" crashed into a 674 ft Ghatkopar hill near Bombay, India, killing all 45 aboard. Thirteen of the dead were American news correspondents.
• On 22 March 1952, a KLM Douglas DC-6 PH-TBJ "Koningin Juliana", crashed in Frankfurt, killing 42 of 47 occupants
• On 23 August 1954; a KLM Douglas DC-6B, PH-DFO "Willem Bontekoe", crashed between Shannon and Schiphol in the North Sea, 40 km from IJmuiden – all 21 passengers and crew died.
• On 5 September 1954, Flight 633, a Lockheed Super Constellation, PH-LKY "Triton" ditched in the River Shannon after takeoff from Shannon Airport, Ireland. 28 out of 56 people on board (46 passengers and 10 crew) were killed.
• On 14 July 1957, KLM Super Constellation PH-LKT "Neutron" crashed in the sea near Biak, after takeoff from Mokmer airport at Biak on its way to Manila. The pilot made a low farewell flypass over the island, but the aircraft lost altitude, crashed into the sea and exploded. Nine crew and 49 passengers died; there were 10 survivors. See KLM Flight 844.
• On 14 August 1958, KLM Flight 607-E, a Lockheed Super Constellation, PH-LKM "Hugo de Groot" en route from Amsterdam to New York, via Shannon Airport, crashed into the ocean 180 km off the coast of Co. Galway, Ireland. 91 passengers and 8 crew members perished.
• On 25 October 1968, Douglas C-47A PH-DAA of KLM Aerocarto flew into Tafelberg Mountain, Suriname, following an engine failure whilst on a survey flight. The aircraft collided with the mountain in cloud, killing three of the five people on board.
• On 27 March 1977, Flight 4805, a Boeing 747-206B, PH-BUF, and Pan Am Flight 1736, a Boeing 747–121, N736PA, collided at Tenerife North Airport, Canary Islands, killing 583 people. The incident has the highest number of on-board fatalities of any single accident in aviation history.

Notable incidents without fatalities

• On 17 July 1935, KLM DC-2 PH-AKM "Maraboe" crashed near Bushehr, Iran. All occupants were rescued.

• On 15 November 1942, the escaped KLM DC-3 PH-ALI "Ibis", flying with a Dutch crew under BOAC's flag (G-AGBB) and later destroyed in the downing of Flight 777-A, was attacked by a single Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighter, but she was able to limp on to Lisbon where repairs were carried out. The damage sustained by cannon and machine gun fire included the port wing, engine nacelle and fuselage.

• On 19 April 1943, the Ibis was again attacked at coordinates 46 North, 9 West, by a schwarm of six Bf 110 fighters. Captain Koene Dirk Parmentier evaded the attackers by dropping to 50 feet above the ocean and then climbing steeply into the clouds. The "Ibis" again sustained damage to the port aileron, shrapnel to the fuselage and a holed fuel tank. A new wingtip was flown to Lisbon to complete repairs. Despite these attacks, BOAC continued to fly the Lisbon–Whitchurch route.

• On 6 November 1946, KLM Douglas DC-3 PH-TBO crashed near Shere as the flight was on approach to Croydon Airport after a flight from Amsterdam. None of the 20 passengers and crew were killed in the accident.
• On 23 March 1952, a KLM Lockheed Constellation, PH-TFF "Venlo", suffered a propeller failure and subsequent engine fire during landing in Bangkok. All 44 passengers and crew escaped shortly before the fire completely consumed the plane. A Thai ground crewman ran into the burning aircraft and returned with an infant who had been left behind.
• On 25 November 1973, KLM Flight 861, a Boeing 747-206B, PH-BUA "Mississippi" was hijacked over Iraq by Palestinian terrorists. The plane took off in Amsterdam and was bound for Tokyo. After 70 hours the plane made its final landing in Dubai. The passengers were released earlier in Malta. Everyone survived the hijack.
• On 15 December 1989, KLM Flight 867, a Boeing 747-400, PH-BFC flew through a volcanic plume causing nearly $80 million worth of damage to the then brand-new aircraft. The plane landed in Anchorage, Alaska, with no reported injuries or fatalities.
• On 28 November 2004, KLM Flight 1673, a Boeing 737–400, PH-BTC had a birdstrike upon rotation from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The plane continued onwards to Barcelona International Airport, where the nose gear collapsed. No injuries or casualties; the aircraft was written off.