Bijlmer disaster
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 Aftermath of the disaster |
|
| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | October 4, 1992 |
| Type | Mechanical Failure |
| Site | Amsterdam Zuidoost |
| Fatalities | 43 |
| Injuries | unknown |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747 Freighter |
| Operator | El Al |
| Tail number | 4X-AXG |
| Passengers | 1 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Survivors | 0 (excluding people on the ground) |
The Bijlmerramp (in English: Bijlmer disaster) was an airplane crash. On October 4, 1992, El Al Flight 1862, a Boeing 747 cargo plane of the Israeli El Al airline crashed into the Groeneveen and Klein-Kruitberg flats in the Bijlmermeer (colloquially "Bijlmer") neighbourhood (part of 'Amsterdam Zuidoost') of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. A total of 43 people were killed, including the plane's crew of three and a nonrevenue passenger in a jumpseat. Many more were injured.
The plane, a cargo jet belonging to the Israeli carrier El Al, departed at 1810hrs from Schiphol airport, flying to Tel Aviv. Above the Gooimeer, two of the plane's turbofan engines broke off the right wing: A fuse pin on engine 3 failed due to metal fatigue, causing the engine and nacelle to tilt up and right due to gyroscopic forces, knocking engine 4 off the wing too. A China Airlines 747-200F freighter was brought down by the same causes in December 1991.
The crew remained unaware of the extent of the damage, being unable to see the wing. The plane attempted to return to the airport to land. During the approach the flaps were extended as usual, which apparently rendered the plane uncontrollable. At 18h35 the heavily loaded plane crashed into a row of high-rise apartments called Groeneveen. The building caught fire and partially collapsed, destroying dozens of apartments.
The number of casualties was relatively low (43 compared to the 200 or more expected), as the plane was not carrying passengers and most residents of the building were not at home at the time of the crash. Some people believe that the number of casualties was higher than 43, as many illegal residents were suspected to have lived in the building. About 45 homes were completely destroyed.
[edit] Cargo concerns
The plane's cargo included, amongst other things: bullets, spare parts for AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, spare parts for Patriot missiles and 190 litres of dimethyl methylphosphonate.
Dimethyl methylphosphonate is not classified as toxic, but is harmful if inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin. The primary commercial use of dimethyl methylphosphonate is as a flame retardant. Other commercial uses are a pre-ignition additive for gasoline, anti-foaming agent, plasticizer, stabilizer, textile conditioner, antistatic agent, and an additive for solvents and low-temperature hydraulic fluids. It is a Chemical Weapons Convention schedule 2 chemical used in the synthesis of Sarin nerve gas. The shipment was from a U.S. chemical plant to the Israel Institute for Biological Research under a U.S. Department of Commerce licence.
After the disaster, there were rumours that the Israeli secret service had tried to recover some of the cargo, or the flight recording boxes. The plane, like all Boeing 747s at that time, also contained about 400 kg of depleted uranium as trim weight in the tail, a fact unknown during the recovery effort.
