KLM Flight 607-E
Lockheed L-1049H-01-06-162 Super Constellation · Undetermined
From Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
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
- 99 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 99
- Survivors
- 0
- 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 L-1049H-01-06-162 Super Constellation
- Aircraft type
- Lockheed L-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-LKM
- Operator
- KLM
- Onboard fatalities
- 99
- Route
- From Amsterdam Schiphol AirportTo John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
Cause areas
- Not determined › Not determined
- Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
KLM Flight 607-E was an international scheduled flight that crashed on 14 August 1958, after taking off from Shannon Airport, Ireland. The aircraft was a Lockheed Super Constellation. All 99 on board died, making the crash the deadliest civil aviation disaster involving a single aircraft at the time, and the deadliest crash involving the Lockheed Constellation series, until the disappearance of Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 in 1962.
Accident
The airplane was named Hugo de Groot and registered as PH-LKM. The "E" in the flight number stood for the designation of being an extra economy class flight to match the increased seasonal tourist demand.
All ninety-one passengers and eight crew died in the accident, including six members of the Egyptian fencing team (Osman Abdel Hafeez, Mohamed Ali Riad, Ahmed Sabry, et al.) and the Hungarian fencer Endre Tilli.
Flight 607-E departed Shannon at 03:05 UTC on the second leg of a transatlantic trip from Amsterdam, Netherlands to New York City, US with intermediate stops in Shannon and Gander, Newfoundland. Radio contact with the aircraft was lost at approximately 03:40 UTC; a rescue operation was launched which found light debris on the surface of the ocean approximately 180 km northwest of Shannon. The remains of thirty-four of those on board were also recovered.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
Due to the lack of evidence, Irish and Dutch investigators could not pinpoint a probable cause for the accident. They examined the possibility of a bomb, electrical failure, or pilot error, but believed that the most likely possibility was a catastrophic mechanical failure.
The investigating board believed the most likely cause of the accident to be a malfunctioning over-speeding outboard propeller caused by metal particles obstructing oil feed line regulator valves. The particles may have been formed by a gear that was damaged when the supercharger of the corresponding engine was accelerated (gear ratio shifted). The malfunctions of the propeller pitch might have provoked a flight disturbance and as a consequence the propeller may have sheared off.
Text from the Wikipedia article “KLM Flight 607-E” (revision 1374145040, 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 607-E
- Article
- KLM Flight 607-E
- Revision
- 1374145040 · 2026-09-10 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q2289446
- 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 607-E" (page 5820629, revision 1374145040)
- 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.