KLM Flight 844
Lockheed 1049E Super Constellation · Pilot error or possible technical failure (undetermined)
From Frans Kaisiepo Airport (BIK) to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 58 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 68
- Survivors
- 10
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
Lockheed 1049E Super Constellation
- Aircraft type
- Lockheed 1049
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- PH-LKT
- Operator
- KLM
- Onboard fatalities
- 58
- Route
- From Frans Kaisiepo Airport (BIK)To Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL)
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) Flight 844 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Biak-Mokmer Airport, Dutch New Guinea (now Indonesia) to Manila International Airport, Manila, Philippines on 16 July 1957, which crashed into Cenderawasih Bay 1.2 km from its departure airport. As a result, 58 (9 of which were crew members) out of 68 onboard perished. The flight was the first leg of a service with the ultimate destination of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Flight
After take-off at 03:32 on 16 July 1957 from Runway 10 at Biak-Mokmer Airport, the captain of KLM Flight 844 requested that the runway lights be kept on and permission to carry out a low pass down the runway, with both requests granted. The Super Constellation initiated a 180-degree turn, losing altitude during the turn until it struck the sea at 03:36, breaking apart and sinking in water with depths of 250 m.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
Initially the crash was attributed to pilot error and/or technical failure, with no direct evidence for either cause. As the accident happened at night, the pilot might have misjudged his altitude relative to the sea.
The summary of the report from the Accident Board noted that there was no evidence of either pilot error or technical failure, but also noted that the risks involved in take-off and landing should not be needlessly increased by carrying out low passes on scheduled services with passengers aboard.
Text from the Wikipedia article “KLM Flight 844” (revision 1339312440, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: KLM Flight 844
- Article
- KLM Flight 844
- Revision
- 1339312440 · 2026-02-19 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q2344809
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "KLM Flight 844" (page 28901076, revision 1339312440)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- flight number in the article title
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.