Flight accident of the "Roermond"
| Flight accident of the "Roermond" | |
|---|---|
 An identical Lockheed L-749 Constellation in the colors of KLM |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Crash after structural failure |
| place | Bari , Italy |
| date | June 23, 1949 |
| Fatalities | 33 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Lockheed L-749 |
| operator | KLM Royal Dutch Airlines |
| Mark | PH-TER |
| Surname | "Roermond" |
| Departure airport | Batavia , Dutch East Indies |
| 1. Stopover | Mauritius Airport , Mauritius |
| 2. Stopover | Cairo International Airport , Egypt |
| Destination airport | Amsterdam Schiphol Airport , Netherlands |
| Passengers | 23 |
| crew | 10 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
The "Roermond" was a Lockheed Constellation operated by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines , which crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on June 23, 1949 near Bari for an unknown reason .
plane
The Lockheed L-749 with the registration PH-TER and the name "Roermond" had been in service with KLM since August 12, 1947. The "Roermond" flew on the so-called Mauritius route from Batavia (now Jakarta ) to Amsterdam with stops in Mauritius and Cairo . This route became necessary after several states in the Middle East , including Pakistan , India and Ceylon , withdrew KLM's landing rights in 1949 for political reasons.
Flight history
The “Roermond” , which took off from Batavia on June 21, made a stopover in Cairo, where the flight crew was changed. On June 23, the plane took off at 05:08 a.m. from Cairo Airport for its last leg to Amsterdam. The estimated time of arrival was 2:45 PM Dutch time. At 10 o'clock Dutch time, the "Roermond" was over the Adriatic coast, heading for Bari, Italy. At around 10:25 a.m., the pilots at the radio control center in Rome reported an altitude of 5,000 meters and that everything was OK. Half an hour later, at around 10:55 am, the “Roermond” crashed into the sea , two kilometers from the Punta San Cataldo lighthouse . All 33 occupants on board died, including Albert Plesman's son , Hans Plesman .
Accident investigation
23 victims were rescued from the sea, but it was noticeable that they were only partially clothed and did not wear shoes. This led to the assumption that the pilot wanted to ditch and therefore instructed the passengers to take off their shoes. Since the rubble of the "Roermond" was only 30 meters deep, most of the rubble was recovered with the help of a floating crane. After first examining the debris, it was found that the aircraft's tail unit broke off before crashing into the water.
Eyewitnesses
The eyewitness accounts of the crash differed greatly from one another. Some reported the plane suddenly crashing down, breaking off the tail. After that, the plane rolled over twice before hitting the sea. Others said there was an explosion that broke the plane in two. The tail came first on the water, then the rest of the hull.
Cause of accident
The tail unit may have broken off from overloading the aircraft when it was in the supine position. Why the "Roermond" went into a dive could not be determined because some of the debris could not be recovered; however, a failure of the autopilot was suspected. After suspecting a defective autopilot, pilots should always keep their seat belts buckled when using the autopilot. In the event of a failure, the aircraft could start to vibrate, which would throw the pilot through the cockpit and prevent him from controlling the aircraft.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Aviacrash.nl