FLIGHT FINDINGSAVIATION OCCURRENCE MAP
Back to map

KLM Flight 592

22 Mar 1952 · Approximately 7 km north east of Frankfurt International

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Douglas DC-6 · Undetermined

From Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport (CIA) to Frankfurt International

Report a problem

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
45 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
Unknown
Survivors
2
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
2
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

Douglas DC-6

Aircraft type
Douglas DC-6
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-TPJ
Onboard fatalities
45
Route
From Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport (CIA)To Frankfurt International

Cause areas

  • Not determined › Not determined

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 592, a KLM Douglas DC-6 was a scheduled passenger flight from Rome-Ciampino Airport (CIA/LIRA) to Frankfurt International Airport (FRA/EDDF). On Saturday 22 March 1952, Flight 592 crashed on final approaching to Frankfurt International around 10:45 AM Local time; 45 of the 47 people aboard the DC-6 were killed.

Crash

Flight 592 departed Rome-Ciampino Airport and headed for Frankfurt Airport, around 10:38 AM local time the crew of Flight 592 contact Frankfurt Air Traffic Control and reported they were overhead the staden beacon at 4,000 ft. 7 minutes later, at around 10:45, the crew reported that they were approaching the Offenbach beacon and descending to 2,460 ft. Nothing more was heard from the flight after this. Around five minutes later, the aircraft crashed into a forest. Of the 47 people aboard, 45 did not survive the crash. The survivors were one crew member and one passenger. Six people were initially pulled alive from the wreckage by passing lorry driver, Willi Hoffman, who used a pocket knife to cut the immediate survivors free of the wreckage before they were consumed by the flames. Three of the six rescued died on the way to hospital while another died later.

Investigation and cause

Investigation

The cause of the crash was not determined, but it was possible that the crew continued the approach below the minimum descent altitude to maintain a visual contact with the ground.

Text from the Wikipedia article “KLM Flight 592” (revision 1339308388, 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 592
Article
KLM Flight 592
Revision
1339308388 · 2026-02-19 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q17576578
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 592" (page 60271388, revision 1339308388)
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site; country from Wikidata (P17)
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.