1928 KLM Fokker F.III Waalhaven crash

On 24 July 1928, a KLM-owned Fokker F.III operated a scheduled passenger sightseeing flight from and back to Waalhaven Airport in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The plane with the pilot and five passengers on board stalled shortly after takeoff and crashed after its landing gear and the right wing struck struck boats in the Waalhaven harbour next to the airport. One passenger died after not all passengers could be saved in time while the airplane sank.

The pilot wasn’t properly trained for this older type of aircraft. The passengers weren’t aware of the emergency hatch, and all could have survived had they used this emergency exit. It was suggested to tell passengers before the flight where the emergency exit is located, which is nowadays one of the mandatory parts of the pre-flight safety demonstration. Better visibility inside the cabin of the emergency exit was also advised. The accident also resulted in better procedures by which pilots are assigned to fly certain aircraft types.

Accident

In July 1928, the Rotterdamsche Aero Club organized, together with KLM, a three-day aviation festival at Waalhaven Airport. The KLM organized round-trip flights.

On 24 July 1928, the Fokker F.III registered H-NABR was used as a sightseeing flight above Rotterdam from Waalhaven Airport, the Netherlands. Besides the pilot, Scott, there were five female passengers on board. After the usual test of the engine, the plane departed at 2:48 p.m. local time in a westerly direction. After 150 meters in the air, the airplane flew in an abnormal position with a low-hanging tail. Due to a sudden wind, the airplane drifted to the right. The airplane flew just over the fence of the airport. Due to the stalled position of the aircraft, the main landing gear and the right wing struck boats at the Waalhaven harbor. The front three masts of the Kolenmijn were hit. The first mast snapped off, the second mast lost the top part, and the third mast damaged the wing. The plane glided seventy-five meters further away into the water of the harbor. As the depth of the water was only four meters, the hull and left wing were at an angle above the water, and the right-wing was at the bottom of the water.