KLM flight 844
| KLM flight 844 | |
|---|---|
 an identical KLM aircraft |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | CFIT or loss of control after a technical defect |
| place | Biak , Dutch New Guinea (now Indonesia ) |
| date | July 16, 1957 |
| Fatalities | 58 |
| Survivors | 10 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Lockheed L-1049E |
| operator | KLM Royal Dutch Airlines |
| Mark | PH-LKT |
| Surname | neutron |
| Departure airport | Mokmer Airport , Biak ( Dutch New Guinea ) |
| 1. Stopover | Manila ( Philippines ) airport |
| 2. Stopover | Bangkok ( Thailand ) airport |
| 3. Stopover | Karachi ( Pakistan ) airport |
| 4. Stopover | Beirut ( Lebanon ) airport |
| 5. Stopover | Rome Ciampino Airport ( Italy ) |
| Destination airport | Schiphol Airport , Amsterdam ( Netherlands ) |
| Passengers | 59 |
| crew | 9 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
On July 16, 1957, a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation crashed on KLM Flight 844 off the coast of the island of Biak in Dutch New Guinea (now Indonesia ). The plane had taken off from Mokmer Airport a few minutes earlier . 58 of the 68 inmates were killed in the accident.
Flight history
The KLM Royal Dutch Airlines plane took off at 03:32 a.m. local time from Biak-Mokmer Airport on a scheduled flight to Amsterdam . Scheduled stopovers were planned in Manila , Bangkok , Karachi , Beirut and Rome .
Shortly after taking off from runway 10, the flight captain initiated a right turn and asked to be allowed to fly over the airport at a low altitude. The air traffic controller in the control tower issued a corresponding clearance. The pilots then turned to the left to fly back in a wide semicircle to Biak. The eastern apex of the curve was reached over the neighboring island of Owi, which is around 12 kilometers from the airport. As the aircraft headed west toward the illuminated runway, it slowly lost altitude.
The plane struck Cenderawasih Bay at 3:36 a.m. about one kilometer off the coast of Biak . On impact, the aircraft broke into several parts. The fuel pouring out of the tanks ignited instantly and floated in fiery puddles on the surface of the sea. Boat crews were able to rescue twelve occupants who had been thrown out of the cabin on impact or who had freed themselves from the broken hull. A passenger and a flight attendant later died from their injuries.
Cause of accident
Most of the wreckage sank in 250 meters of water and was not recovered. Due to the small amount of rubble and the sometimes contradicting information from the eyewitnesses and the rescued occupants, the cause of the accident could not be clarified. The investigators assumed a pilot error or a technical defect, although a combination of both factors seemed possible.
Pilot error
The accident happened in good visibility and a clear night sky. After the machine had completed the left turn, it headed west towards the brightly lit runway. It seemed likely that the pilots were looking only at sight, disregarding the altimeter reading.
Two crew members of the ship Kortenaer observed the course of the flight until shortly before the impact. According to their information, the machine reached an altitude of about 300 meters over the island of Owi and then appeared to fly back to Biak parallel to the water surface. Presumably, however, the master already initiated a shallow descent over Owi and maintained this until the impact. When the pilots switched on the landing lights shortly afterwards, both witnesses estimated the flight altitude to be only 50 to a maximum of 100 meters. If the aircraft had sunk below 75 meters, the crew would have lost visual contact with the runway because the vegetation in front of them obscured its lighting.
At around the same time, the captain informed the passengers over the on-board loudspeakers that he would give them one last glimpse of the island's lights . It is possible that the master lost visual contact with the runway while making the announcement and nevertheless continued the descent. According to the rescued occupants, the aircraft was not intercepted before the impact and hit the sea at a shallow angle.
Technical error
At the time of the accident there was hardly any swell , but the sea was rippled by a steady wind. According to the investigators, this was enough to see the sea surface in the light of the landing lights.
According to four local witnesses, a fire broke out on the right wing while the machine was approaching Biak. One of the eyewitnesses said he saw an explosion before the plane hit. The seriously injured flight attendant, who was the only crew member to survive the impact, also reported an explosion on board, whereupon the machine tipped over the left wing and fell into the water. Several survivors, on the other hand, spoke of a rattling noise and strong vibrations that shook the aircraft shortly after the captain finished his announcement. Your statements indicated a technical defect, such as an engine damage . Because of the low altitude, the pilots hardly had time to intercept the damaged machine. This theory was supported by an oil slick that was discovered a few days later about four kilometers east of the accident site. The aircraft had flown over this position shortly before the impact. However, it remained unclear whether the oil actually came from the crashed machine. If this were the case, a component would have to be torn off in flight and sunk at this point. The investigators ruled out that the oil flowed continuously from a leak because there was no trace of oil leading to the scene of the accident. It could also not have come from the wreck because the ocean currents made it impossible to drift to this position.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, flight plan 1957
- ↑ a b c d e f g ICAO Aircraft Accident Digest No. 9, Circular 56-AN / 51, pp. 141–145 (PDF)
Coordinates: 1 ° 12 ′ 12 ″ S , 136 ° 8 ′ 46 ″ E