Amsterdam Airport Schiphol - Accidents and Incidents

Accidents and Incidents

• 14 November 1946, a Douglas C-47 operated by KLM from London approached Schiphol during bad weather conditions. The first two attempts to land failed. During the third attempt, the pilot realized that the airplane was not lined up properly with the runway. A sharp left turn was made at low speed, causing the left wing to hit the ground. The airplane crashed and caught fire, killing all 26 people on board, including the plane's crew of five.
• 4 October 1992, El Al Flight 1862, a Boeing 747 cargo airplane heading to Tel Aviv, suffered physical engine separation of both right-wing engines (#3 and #4) just after taking off from Schiphol and crashed into an apartment building in the Bijlmer neighbourhood of Amsterdam while attempting to return to the airport. A total of 43 people were killed, including the plane's crew of three and a "non revenue passenger". Several others were injured.
• 4 April 1994, Flight KL433 to Cardiff, a Saab 340 operated by KLM Cityhopper, returned to Schiphol after setting the number two engine to flight idle because the crew mistakenly believed that the engine suffered from low oil pressure because of a faulty warning light. On final approach at a height of 90 ft (27 m), the captain decided to go-around and gave full throttle on only the number one engine leaving the other in flight idle. The airplane rolled to the right, pitched up, stalled and hit the ground at 80 degrees bank. Of the twenty-four people on board, three were killed including the captain. Nine others were seriously injured.
• 24 December 1997, a Boeing 757–200 of Transavia Airlines overshot/overran runway 19L, nowadays known as 36C/18C (former 01L/19L), causing the nosegear to collapse. no persons were injured. the plane has never flown since, because it was permanently written off. the planes registration was PH-TKC. The Dutch authorities stated that the plane should have been diverted either to Brussels or Rotterdam. It didn't causing the plane to overrun the Zwanenburgbaan runway.
• 25 February 2005, a diamond robbery occurred at Schipol's cargo terminal, the robbers using a stolen KLM van to gain airside access. The estimated value of the stones was around 75 million euros, making it the largest diamond robbery ever recorded.
• 27 October 2005, a fire broke out at the airport's detention centre, killing 11 people and injuring 15. The complex was holding 350 people at the time of the incident. Results from the investigation almost one year later showed that fire safety precautions were not in force. A national outrage resulted in the resignation of Justice Minister Donner (CDA) and Mayor Hartog of Haarlemmermeer. Spatial Planning Minister Dekker (VVD) resigned as well, because she bore responsibility for the construction, safety, and maintenance of state-owned buildings.
• 25 February 2009, Turkish Airlines Flight 1951, a Boeing 737–800 from Istanbul crashed on approach to the airport's Polderbaan, just 1 km short of the runway. The plane carried 128 passengers and 7 crew on board. 9 people were killed and a further 86 were injured, including six with serious injuries. An initial report from the Dutch Safety Board revealed that the left radio altimeter had failed to provide the correct height above the ground and suddenly reported −8 ft (−2.4 m). As a cause of this the autothrottle system closed the thrust levers to idle, as it is programmed to reduce thrust when below 27 ft (8.2 m) radio altitude. This eventually resulted in a dropping airspeed which was not acted upon until it was too late to recover and the aircraft stalled and crashed in a field.
• 25 December 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, an Islamic terrorist from Nigeria, set off an explosive device on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, an Airbus A330 from Schiphol as the plane was landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan. The device failed to go off correctly, and the suspect suffered burns to his lower body. Three other passengers had minor injuries.
• 13 January 2010, an Arkefly Boeing 767–300 PH-AHQ operating flight OR361 from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to Aruba Airport declared an emergency after a man who claimed to have a bomb on board began a struggle with the flight crew, the aircraft made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport. Gardai stormed the plane and arrested the man, where he was taken to Shannon Garda station. A passenger who had surgery the previous month collapsed in the terminal while waiting for the continuation of the flight and had to be taken to a local hospital. A replacement aircraft, also a Boeing 767–300, continued the flight to Aruba.
• 2 March 2010, a Corendon Airlines pilot, of Swedish origin, was arrested at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol after flying commercial jets for 13 years without a licence. He was due to fly a Boeing 737–400 to Ankara, Turkey with 101 passengers on board when the Dutch popo arrested him. A back-up pilot was standing by to fly the jet to its destination. It is reported that he had clocked up to 10,000 hours flying passenger jets for various European airlines and 2 years with Corendon Airlines before the tip off from Swedish authorities. The licence he held was to fly light aircraft, but that licence expired 13 years before the incident.
• 2 October 2010, a Corendon Airlines Boeing 737–400 landed in bad weather on the short (2,014 metres (6,608 ft)) Oostbaan (04/22) and the plane overshot the runway resulting in the nosewheel landing in the mud at the end of the runway. According to the airline, this runway should not have been used in heavy rain.
• 13 February 2012, Dutch police arrested a man who locked himself in the toilets and claimed to have a bomb. Two terminals were evacuated at 11:30am (local time). The terminals reopened 4 hours later and police reassured the public and staff that the man posed no threat.
• 29 August 2012, a 500-pound bomb was found by workers during construction. The C and D building of Schiphol were evacuated as officials investigated the bomb. The bomb was most likely set during the Second World War, as Schiphol was bombarded numerous times. No injuries have been reported.