Surinam Airways Flight 764 was an international scheduled passenger flight from
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...
in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
to
Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport
Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport , also known as Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport, and locally referred to simply as JAP, is an airport located in the town of Zanderij and hub for airline carrier Surinam Airways, south of Par ...
in
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
on a
Surinam Airways
Surinam Airways ( nl, Surinaamse Luchtvaart Maatschappij), also known by its initials ''SLM'', is the flag carrier of Suriname, based in Paramaribo. It operates regional and long-haul scheduled passenger services. Its hub is at Johan Adolf Penge ...
DC-8-62
The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company.
After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in July ...
. On Wednesday 7 June 1989, the flight crashed during approach to Paramaribo-Zanderij, killing 176 of the 187 on board. It is the deadliest aviation disaster in Suriname's history.
Investigation revealed significant deficiencies in the crew's training and judgement. They knowingly attempted to land using an inappropriate navigation signal and ignored alarms warning them of an impending crash. The safety issues stemming from the incident were of such concern that the United States
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
(NTSB) issued safety recommendations to the
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
(FAA).
Aircraft and crew
The aircraft (named the Anthony Nesty
in honor of the Olympic Swimmer)
was a four-engined McDonnell Douglas DC-8-62 passenger jet which had first flown in 1969
as part of the air fleet of
Braniff International Airways
Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...
. An NTSB brief shows that while the aircraft was owned by Braniff it was involved in a minor accident in 1979 in which there were no fatalities. The aircraft was sold to Surinam Airways shortly afterwards. The official report into the crash of Flight 764 made no indication that this previous incident contributed in any way to the subsequent fatal crash.
The flight crew consisted of Captain Wilbert "Will" Rogers (66), First Officer Glyn Tobias (34) and Flight Engineer Warren Rose (65). There were six flight attendants on board.
History of the flight
The flight departed Amsterdam Schiphol Airport as scheduled at 23:25 on 6 June. The next ten hours of the flight passed uneventfully. The crew received a final weather report and clearance for a VOR/DME (
VHF omnidirectional range
Very high frequency omnirange station (VOR) is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a receiving unit to determine its position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted by a network ...
/
Distance Measuring Equipment
In aviation, distance measuring equipment (DME) is a radio navigation technology that measures the slant range (distance) between an aircraft and a ground station by timing the propagation delay of radio signals in the frequency band between 9 ...
) approach to
runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
10 but instead initiated an ILS (
Instrument Landing System
In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...
) landing. During the approach, the plane's no. 2 engine struck a tree at a height of approximately above ground level. The outboard right wing then struck another tree, shearing it off and causing the aircraft to roll over and impact the ground inverted. Of the 9 crew and 178 passengers, none of the crew and only 9 passengers survived, leaving 178 dead.
Colourful 11
![SLM-ramp89monument](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/SLM-ramp89monument.jpg)
A group of Surinamese
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
players playing professionally in the Netherlands and organized as an exhibition team known as the ''Colourful 11'' (in Dutch ''Kleurrijk Elftal'') were among the dead. The team was an initiative of
Dutch Surinamese
Dutch Surinamese ( nl, Boeroes) are Surinamese people of Dutch descent.
Dutch migrant settlers in search of a better life started arriving in Suriname in the 19th century with the ''boeroes'', poor farmers arriving from the Dutch provinces of ...
social worker Sonny Hasnoe who worked with underprivileged children in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. Many people of Surinamese origin lived in the city's
Bijlmer
The Bijlmermeer (), or colloquially Bijlmer (), is one of the neighbourhoods that form the Amsterdam-Zuidoost borough (Dutch: ''stadsdeel'') of Amsterdam, Netherlands. To many people, the Bijlmer designation is used to refer to Amsterdam Zuidoost ...
district and were isolated from mainstream Dutch society. Hasnoe often found that he could engage the youngsters socially if they saw positive role models that had the same background as they did. He encouraged young boys to join football clubs and noted an improvement in their behaviour when they were playing sports as it gave them an opportunity to interact with their white contemporaries and so helped speed up the process of social integration.
In 1986, Sonny Hasnoe organised the first match between a star selection of Surinamese Dutch professionals and ''
SV Robinhood
Sport Vereniging Robinhood is a Surinamese football club based in Paramaribo that competes in the SVB Eerste Divisie, the highest level of football in Suriname. Founded on 6 February 1945, Robinhood is the most successful club in Surinamese ...
'', champions of the domestic Surinamese competition. The match was a great success and further contests were arranged. The ''Colourful 11'' were to play a match in Suriname in June 1989, however a number of players were denied permission to travel by their Dutch professional clubs.
Among the players who stayed back as a result were
Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...
,
Frank Rijkaard
Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Rijkaard played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and AC Milan and represented the Netherlands national team side ...
,
Aron Winter
Aron Winter (born 1 March 1967) is a Dutch former professional football midfielder and manager for Suriname. He has played for Ajax and Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands, for Italian sides Lazio and Inter Milan, and for the Netherlands nationa ...
,
Bryan Roy
Bryan Eduard Steven Roy (born 12 February 1970) is a Dutch football manager and a former professional player.
As a player he was a winger and notably played for Ajax, Nottingham Forest and Hertha BSC. His spell at Forest culminated in three Pre ...
,
Stanley Menzo
Stanley Purl Menzo (born 15 October 1963) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and worked as a manager of Ajax Cape Town in the South African Premier Soccer League. He is currently the manager of Chinese Super Le ...
,
Dean Gorre
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
,
Jos Luhukay
Jos Luhukay (born 13 June 1963) is a Dutch football manager and former player, who was most recently head coach of VVV-Venlo.
Playing career
He began his career at the age of 15 at his hometown club FC VVV and he made his league debut in Januar ...
and
Regi Blinker
Reginald Waldie Blinker (born 4 June 1969) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), left winger. During his 17-year senior career, he amassed Eredivisie totals of 307 games and 57 go ...
.
A group of eighteen "second stringers" travelled to Suriname instead.
Former
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...
players and Dutch internationals
Henny Meijer
Henny Ingemar Meijer (born 17 February 1962) is a Dutch former footballer who played as a forward.
Meijer was born in Paramaribo, Suriname. He is known for scoring the first ever J1 League goal in the 19th minute of a game against Yokohama Ma ...
and
Stanley Menzo
Stanley Purl Menzo (born 15 October 1963) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and worked as a manager of Ajax Cape Town in the South African Premier Soccer League. He is currently the manager of Chinese Super Le ...
– who ignored his club's decree and went to Suriname on his own accord – had taken an earlier flight and were spared the fate of their teammates.
Football players killed in the crash
*
Ruud Degenaar, 25,
Heracles Almelo
Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to th ...
*
Lloyd Doesburg, 29,
AFC Ajax
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...
*
Steve van Dorpel
Steven ("Steve") van Dorpel (13 December 1965 in Amsterdam – 7 June 1989 in Paramaribo) was a Dutch footballer. During his career he played for FC Volendam.
He died at the age of 23, killed in the Surinam Airways Flight PY764 air crash in Par ...
, 23,
FC Volendam
Football Club Volendam () is a professional Association football, football club based in Volendam, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football from the 2022–23 season following promotion ...
*
Wendel Fräser, 22,
RBC Roosendaal
RBC, commonly known under its previous official name RBC Roosendaal, is a football club based in Roosendaal, Netherlands. RBC currently plays in the seventh-tier Tweede Klasse after a bankruptcy in 2011, restarting the club in tenth tier Vijfde Kl ...
*
Frits Goodings
Frits Goodings (10 October 1963 – 7 June 1989) was a Dutch footballer who played for FC Utrecht and FC Wageningen. He died at the age of 25, when on 7 June 1989 he was killed in the Surinam Airways Flight PY764 air crash in Paramaribo.
Ca ...
, 25,
FC Wageningen
FC Wageningen (before 1978 ''Wageningen'' and ''WVV Wageningen'') was a Dutch football club which was founded on 27 August 1911., The club played its matches in the Wageningse Berg stadium.
Its first success came on 18 June 1939, when the team w ...
*
Jerry Haatrecht, 28,
Neerlandia
Neerlandia is a hamlet in central Alberta, Canada within the County of Barrhead No. 11. Neerlandia is situated at the intersection of Highway 769 and Township Road 615A between Mellowdale and Vega, approximately 20 kilometers north of Barrhead ...
, was travelling in place of his brother
Winston Haatrecht who had post-season duties with his club
SC Heerenveen
Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands.
History
Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...
.
*
Virgall Joemankhan
Virgall Joemankhan (17 November 1968 – 7 June 1989) was a Dutch footballer. During his career, he played for AFC Ajax and Cercle Brugge. He died at the age of 20, when on 7 June 1989, he was killed in the Surinam Airways Flight PY764 air cras ...
, 20,
Cercle Brugge
Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. Cercle have played in the Belgian Pro League since the 2003–04 season, having previously spent several years in the Belgian Second Divisio ...
*
Andro Knel, 21,
NAC Breda
NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eerste Divi ...
*
Ruben Kogeldans, 22,
Willem II Tilburg
Willem II (), also known as Willem II Tilburg, is a Dutch football club based in Tilburg, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. The clu ...
*
Ortwin Linger, 21,
HFC Haarlem
HFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889 and dissolved in 2010. The club won the Eredivisie in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912. Haarlem reached the second round of the 1982 ...
, died three days after the crash as a result of his injuries
*
Fred Patrick, 23,
PEC Zwolle
PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...
*
Andy Scharmin
Andy Scharmin (29 November 1967 – 7 June 1989) was a Dutch footballer. During his career he served FC Twente. He died at the age of 21, when on 7 June 1989 he was killed in the Surinam Airways Flight PY764 air crash in Paramaribo. He was the ca ...
, 21,
FC Twente
Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese Bo ...
*
Elfried Veldman, 23,
De Graafschap
VBV De Graafschap () is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands, playing in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football.
It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the De Vijverberg stadium. ...
*
Florian Vijent, 27,
Telstar
Telstar is the name of various communications satellites. The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962. It successfully relayed through space the fir ...
*
Nick Stienstra, 34,
RC Heemstede (coach)
Football players who survived
*
Sigi Lens, 25,
Fortuna Sittard
Fortuna Sittard (; li, Fortuna Zitterd ) is a football club in Sittard, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was established through a merger ...
, would never be able to play football again due to a complicated
pelvic fracture
A pelvic fracture is a break of the bony structure of the pelvis. This includes any break of the sacrum, hip bones (ischium, pubis, ilium), or tailbone. Symptoms include pain, particularly with movement. Complications may include internal ble ...
.
*
Edu Nandlal, 25,
Vitesse, suffered a partial spinal cord
lesion
A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by disease or trauma. ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin "injury". Lesions may occur in plants as well as animals.
Types
There is no designated classifi ...
, but eventually recovered and now walks with a limp.
*
Radjin de Haan
Radjin de Haan (born 12 August 1969) is a retired Dutch footballer and currently is a football manager. During his career he served Telstar, FC Eindhoven and FC Den Bosch. He was one of the footballers that survived the Surinam Airways Fligh ...
, 19,
Telstar
Telstar is the name of various communications satellites. The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962. It successfully relayed through space the fir ...
, would play again, but was forced to retire early as he could not reach his former level of performance due to a fractured vertebra.
In 2005, Dutch journalist Iwan Tol released his book about this lost generation of Surinamese players called: ''Eindbestemming Zanderij. Het vergeten verhaal van het kleurrijk elftal'' ().
Investigation and probable cause
A commission was set up by the
Surinamese government to investigate the accident. The results of that investigation are described below.
The final weather report sent to the aircraft accurately stated that there was visibility of 900 meters in dense fog, 1/4 cloud cover with a cloud base at , and calm winds. This surprised the flight crew because previous weather information had given visibility of . As a result, although the aircraft was cleared for a VOR/DME (
VHF omnidirectional range
Very high frequency omnirange station (VOR) is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a receiving unit to determine its position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted by a network ...
/
distance measuring equipment
In aviation, distance measuring equipment (DME) is a radio navigation technology that measures the slant range (distance) between an aircraft and a ground station by timing the propagation delay of radio signals in the frequency band between 9 ...
) approach, the crew initiated an ILS/DME approach. ILS navigational equipment is normally more accurate than VOR/DME equipment, but in this case, the ILS equipment at Zanderij airport, though transmitting signals, was not suitable nor available for operational use. The investigation showed that the crewmembers were aware of this. The
cockpit voice recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...
captured the
first officer saying, "I don't trust that ILS", but the captain chose to use it regardless. He did instruct the first officer to tune the required navigational equipment for the functional VOR/DME approach, most likely for use as a gross error check.
Because of the unreliability of the ILS signal, the aircraft descended too low, triggering several audible and visual warning signals. The crew ignored these warnings and also descended below the minimum altitude allowed for both the VOR/DME and ILS approaches without positive visual contact with the runway. The crew may have been motivated by the aircraft's low fuel state. The aircraft crashed at 04:27.
The NTSB investigation also discovered that captain Rogers, at age 66, was over the maximum age (60) allowed for a captain on this flight. Additionally, he was not properly approved for operating the aircraft type, as his most recent check had been on a small, piston-drive, twin-engine aircraft instead of the DC-8. Partly as a result of name confusion in his check paperwork, this incorrect check went unnoticed by the airline.
The co-pilot had false identity papers
and probably also no approval for machines of the type DC-8.
The "probable cause" paragraph from the report reads as follows:
NTSB recommendations to the FAA
Even though the accident was not under U.S. jurisdiction, the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) was actively involved in the investigation because the aircraft was U.S.-registered. As a result of its findings, a number of safety recommendations were made to the FAA.
These recommendations were made only to the FAA and not the government of Suriname or its bodies of investigation because the scope of the investigation was restricted by jurisdictional issues.
The following recommendations were made:
* Perform ramp and en route inspections of air carriers operating aircraft under 14 CFR part 129 that are registered in the United States.
* Require air carriers operating into the United States under part 129 to provide the FAA with a list of the names, dates of birth, and certificate number of all captains and first officers operating airplanes into the United States. If pilots are found to have reached their 60th birthday, inform the air carrier that these pilots are not authorized to operate as either captain or copilot under the terms of the operations specifications issued in accordance with Part 129. (Class 11, Priority Action) (A-90-52)
*Promulgate rules to regulate United States companies that provide pilots by contract to international air carriers. (Class 11, Priority Action) (A-90-53)
See also
*
Controlled flight into terrain
In aviation, a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT; usually ) is an aviation accidents and incidents, accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under aircraft pilot, pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, a body of ...
*
List of accidents involving sports teams
This is a list of accidents where all or part of a major sports team had been killed or seriously injured.
Sports teams fatalities from aviation accidents and incidents
''(Click on date for associated article)''
1. Frölunda chartered three p ...
*
El Al Flight 1862
On 4 October 1992, El Al Flight 1862, a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft of the then state-owned Israeli airline El Al, crashed into the Groeneveen and Klein-Kruitberg flats in the Bijlmermeer (colloquially "Bijlmer") neighbourhood (part of Amsterda ...
- 1992 cargo aircraft crash in the Bijlmer area of Amsterdam
*
Thai Airways International Flight 311
Thai Airways International Flight 311 was a flight from Bangkok, Thailand's Don Mueang International Airport to Kathmandu, Nepal's Tribhuvan International Airport. On Friday, 31 July 1992, an Airbus A310-304 on the route, registration crashed on ...
,
Air Inter Flight 148
Air Inter Flight 148 was a scheduled passenger flight from Lyon Satolas Airport to Strasbourg Airport in France. On 20 January 1992, the Airbus A320 family, Airbus A320 operating the flight Controlled flight into terrain, crashed into the slop ...
,
Air China Flight 129
Air China Flight 129 (CCA129/CA129) was a scheduled international passenger flight, operated by Air China, from Beijing Capital International Airport to Gimhae International Airport in Busan. On April 15, 2002, the aircraft on this route, a Boeing ...
,
Pakistan International Airlines Flight 268
Pakistan International Airlines Flight 268 was an Airbus A300, registration which crashed while approaching Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport on 28 September 1992. All 167 people on board were killed. Flight 268 is the worst crash ...
,
Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286
Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286 (operating as Continental Express Flight 2286) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Denver, Colorado, to Durango, Colorado, operated for Continental Express by Trans-Colorado Airlines. On 19 Januar ...
and
Northwest Airlink Flight 5719
Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 was a flight from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport to International Falls Airport in International Falls, Minnesota with a scheduled intermediate stop at Chisholm-Hibbing Airport in Hibbing, Minnesota. ...
, all
CFIT
In aviation, a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT; usually ) is an accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, a body of water or an obstacle. In a typical CFIT scenario, ...
accidents caused by multiple pilot errors.
References
External links
CVR transcript
{{Aviation incidents and accidents in 1989
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error
Aviation accidents and incidents involving professional sports teams
Aviation accidents and incidents in Suriname
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1989
Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain
1988–89 in Dutch football
Accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-8
Surinam Airways accidents and incidents
1989 in Suriname
June 1989 events in South America