The 1946 KLM Douglas C-47 Amsterdam accident was the crash of a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight from London to Amsterdam on 14 November 1946. The accident occurred as the aircraft was attempting to land at Amsterdam's airport in poor weather. All 26 passengers and crew on board were killed.

Accident

The civil-use converted

C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in f ...

was on a scheduled flight from London, England to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

in the Netherlands. The crew was cleared to land the aircraft at

Schiphol Airport 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 poor weather. The first attempt to land failed and the crew had to perform a

go-around In aviation, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach or has already touched down. A go-around can either be initiated by the pilot flying or requested by air traffic control for various reasons, such as an unst ...

. The second approach to land also failed. On the third approach to land the aircraft made a sudden turn to the left, apparently trying to line up with the runway. During this turn the aircraft struck the ground and crashed. The aircraft caught fire on impact, killing all 21 passengers and five crew on board. The victims included Dutch novelist Herman de Man. At the time it happened, the accident was the worst aviation accident in the history of the Netherlands.Aircraft accident Douglas C-47A-90-DL PH-TBW Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport
/ref> Eight days earlier another KLM DC-3 operating on the same route in the opposite direction, crashed on approach to London's Croydon Airport in poor weather. There were no fatalities in the London crash but the aircraft was written off.Aircraft accident Douglas C-47A-90-DL PH-TBO near Shere, 6 November 1946
retrieved 8 July 2012

References

External links

Crash photo of PH-TBW
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1946 K K K K K