Narrative:
KLM flight 543, originated at Amsterdam, the Netherlands with destination Cairo, Egypt. Intermediate stops were made at Prague, Vienna, Athens and Beirut.
The crew contacted Cairo Tower at 01:10 hours and reported that it was at 4500 ft, 15 nautical miles out, with the airport in sight and requested a visual approach.
The tower then cleared it for landing. At 01:13 the aircraft again contacted the tower, reporting downwind; the tower acknowledged the message and requested the flight to call on final. Then at 01:14 hours the aircraft appeared to have hit something. One minute later the tower cleared it to land, but the aircraft asked for an emergency landing. This last message was not acknowledged by the tower, who cleared the aircraft again to land. The message was repeated again by the aircraft with the same result.
Shortly afterwards the aircraft touched down on runway 34 with the propeller of engine No. 4 missing, the starboard main landing gear and about 1/3 of the starboard stabilizer and elevator torn off.
The aircraft ran for about 1400 metres on the runway surface, gradually swerving to the right and then towards the runway end, ran off the runway into soft sands and swung sharply to the right before coming to rest. The second pilot was fatally injured by the rotating propeller of engine No. 1 when he was leaving the aircraft through an emergency window before the aircraft came to rest. None of the other occupants were injured, and no fire occurred.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The captain did not check the aircraft's altitude from time to time during a night landing by visual means. A contributing factor was the appreciable drift of the aircraft from a normal circuit over hazardous terrain which resulted in the
aircraft hitting the ground and partially disintegrating before crashlanding."
| Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | Wednesday 19 February 1958 |
| Time: | 01:14 |
| Type: |  Douglas DC-6B |
| Operator: | KLM Royal Dutch Airlines |
| Registration: | PH-DFK |
| MSN: | 43552/240 |
| First flight: | 1952 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 5 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 13 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 18 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Aircraft fate: | Repaired |
| Location: | Cairo-Almaza Airport ( Egypt)
|
| Phase: | Landing (LDG) |
| Nature: | International Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Beirut Airport (BEY/OLBA), Lebanon |
| Cairo-Almaza Airport (HEAZ), Egypt | |
| Flightnumber: | KL543 |
KLM flight 543, originated at Amsterdam, the Netherlands with destination Cairo, Egypt. Intermediate stops were made at Prague, Vienna, Athens and Beirut.
The crew contacted Cairo Tower at 01:10 hours and reported that it was at 4500 ft, 15 nautical miles out, with the airport in sight and requested a visual approach.
The tower then cleared it for landing. At 01:13 the aircraft again contacted the tower, reporting downwind; the tower acknowledged the message and requested the flight to call on final. Then at 01:14 hours the aircraft appeared to have hit something. One minute later the tower cleared it to land, but the aircraft asked for an emergency landing. This last message was not acknowledged by the tower, who cleared the aircraft again to land. The message was repeated again by the aircraft with the same result.
Shortly afterwards the aircraft touched down on runway 34 with the propeller of engine No. 4 missing, the starboard main landing gear and about 1/3 of the starboard stabilizer and elevator torn off.
The aircraft ran for about 1400 metres on the runway surface, gradually swerving to the right and then towards the runway end, ran off the runway into soft sands and swung sharply to the right before coming to rest. The second pilot was fatally injured by the rotating propeller of engine No. 1 when he was leaving the aircraft through an emergency window before the aircraft came to rest. None of the other occupants were injured, and no fire occurred.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The captain did not check the aircraft's altitude from time to time during a night landing by visual means. A contributing factor was the appreciable drift of the aircraft from a normal circuit over hazardous terrain which resulted in the
aircraft hitting the ground and partially disintegrating before crashlanding."
Classification:
Forced landing on runway
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Beirut Airport to Cairo-Almaza Airport as the crow flies is 565 km (353 miles).
Distance from Beirut Airport to Cairo-Almaza Airport as the crow flies is 565 km (353 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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