KLM Flight 607-E

rdf:langString KLM Flight 607-E

rdf:langString KLM Flight 607-E

rdf:langString Hugo de Groot

rdf:langString Gander, Newfoundland

rdf:langString Shannon Airport, Ireland

rdf:langString The Hugo de Groot, the aircraft involved in the accident.

rdf:langString Amsterdam

rdf:langString .

rdf:langString Undetermined

rdf:langString New York City

rdf:langString Accident

rdf:langString PH-LKM

rdf:langString KLM Flight 607-E was an international scheduled flight that crashed on 14 August 1958, on takeoff 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 1962. 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.). Flight 607-E departed Shannon at 03:05 UTC on the second leg of a transatlantic trip from Amsterdam, Netherlands to New York City, USA 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 kilometres (110 mi) northwest of Shannon. The remains of thirty-four of those on board were also recovered. 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.