View source for KLM Flight 867

{{Short description|1989 aircraft incident}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| occurrence_type = Incident
| name            = KLM Flight 867
| image           = The Crew of KL 867 inspecting the damage of their Boeing 747-406M (Registration PH-BFC) which encountered the ash cloud from Mt Redoubt in Alaska in December 1989.jpeg
| caption         = The cockpit crew inspects the damage caused to PH-BFC by the ash cloud in Anchorage the day after the incident.
| date            = {{start date|1989|12|15|df=y}}
| type            = Quadruple engine failure due to blockage by [[volcanic ash]]
| site            = Over [[Mount Redoubt|Redoubt Volcano]], [[Anchorage, Alaska]]
| Coordinates     = 
| aircraft_type   = [[Boeing 747-400|Boeing 747-406M]]
| aircraft_name   = ''[[Calgary|City of Calgary]]''
| origin          = [[Amsterdam Airport Schiphol]], [[Amsterdam]],  Netherlands
| stopover        = Anchorage Airport, Alaska, United States
| destination     = [[Narita International Airport]], Tokyo, Japan<ref>[https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ABCDDD:010834268:mpeg21:a0011 Noodlanding KLM-Boeing ]</ref>
| operator        = [[KLM]]
| IATA            = KL867
| ICAO            = KLM867
| callsign        = KLM 867
| tail_number     = PH-BFC
| occupants       = 245
| passengers      = 231
| crew            = 14
| fatalities      = 0
| injuries        = 0
| survivors       = 245
| plane1_image    = KLM Boeing 747-406M PH-BFC at Narita International Airport, 1992.jpg
| plane1_caption  = PH-BFC, the aircraft involved in the incident, seen in 1992
}}

On 15 December 1989, '''KLM Flight 867''', en route from Amsterdam to [[Narita International Airport]], Tokyo, was forced to make an emergency landing at [[Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport|Anchorage International Airport]], Alaska, when all four engines failed. The [[Boeing 747-400#747-400M|Boeing 747-406M]], less than six months old at the time, flew through a thick cloud of [[volcanic ash]] from [[Mount Redoubt]],<ref name=RWNYT>{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Witkin |title=Jet Lands Safely After Engines Stop in Flight Through Volcanic Ash |date=16 December 1989 |url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE2D71F3AF935A25751C1A96F948260 |work= [[New York Times]] |access-date= 2 February 2009 }}</ref> which had [[Mount Redoubt#1989–1990|erupted]] the day before.

== Aircraft ==
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 747-406M, [[serial number]] 23982, and [[Aircraft registration|registered]] as PH-BFC. It was, at the time of the incident, almost 6 months old. The 747 was equipped with four [[General Electric CF6|General Electric CF6-80C2B1F]] engines.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 747-406M PH-BFC Anchorage, AK |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19891215-1 |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>

==Engine failure==
All four engines failed, leaving only critical systems on backup electrical power. One report assigned the engine shutdown to the conversion of the ash into a glass coating inside the engines that fooled the engine temperature sensors and led to an auto-shutdown of all four engines.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100418/NEWS02/704189878 |title="A look back at Alaska volcano's near-downing of a 747" |publisher=Heraldnet.com |date=2010-04-18 |access-date=2016-04-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221900/http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100418/NEWS02/704189878 |archive-date= 3 March 2016 }}</ref>

When all four main generators shut off due to the failure of all the engines, a momentary power interruption occurred when the flight instruments transferred to standby power. Standby power on the 747-400 is provided by two batteries and inverters. The captain performed the engine restart procedure, which failed on the first few attempts, and repeated it until restart was achieved. On some of the attempts, as one or more (but not all) engines started to operate, the main generator switched back on. This switching on and off caused repeated power transfer interruptions to the flight instruments. The temporary blanking of the instruments gave the appearance that standby power had failed. These power transfers were later verified from the flight data recorder.{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}}

==Recovery and aftermath{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| image1            = 
| alt1              = The incident aircraft in 1994
| caption1          = The incident aircraft at [[Schiphol Airport]] in 1994.
| image2            = 
| alt2              = PH-BFC in "KLM Asia livery
| caption2          = The same plane, wearing "KLM Asia" titles in [[Narita International Airport]] in 2003.
}} ==
After descending more than 14,000 ft (4250 m), the crew restarted the engines and safely landed the plane. In this case, the ash caused more than [[United States dollar|US$]]80&nbsp;million in damage to the aircraft, requiring all four engines to be replaced, but there were no human deaths and no one was injured.<ref name=RWNYT/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Neal|first1=Christina|author-link1=Christina Neal|last2=Casadevall|first2=Thomas J.|last3=Miller|first3=Thomas P.|last4=Hendley II|first4=James W.|last5=Stauffer|first5=Peter H.|year=1997|title=Volcanic Ash–Danger to Aircraft in the North Pacific|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs030-97/fs030-97.pdf|access-date=2 February 2009|work=U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 030-97|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]}}</ref> A shipment of 25 African birds, two [[genet (animal)|genet]]s, and 25 tortoises aboard the plane was diverted to an Anchorage warehouse, where eight birds and three tortoises died before the mislabeled shipment was discovered.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mauer|first=Richard|title=Government looks into animals mishap|newspaper=Anchorage Daily News|date=14 January 1990}}</ref>

The aircraft, PH-BFC, remained in service with KLM until its retirement from the fleet on 14 March 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Deze mega Boeing zien we nooit meer terug|url = https://www.telegraaf.nl/video/1787472/deze-mega-boeing-zien-we-nooit-meer-terug|newspaper = Telegraaf|date = 2018-03-14|access-date = 2018-03-14}}</ref> From 1995 to 2012, it was part of the "KLM Asia" fleet.

==See also==
{{Portal|Alaska|Netherlands|Aviation|1980s}}
*[[British Airways Flight 009]] - a nearly identical incident which occurred over [[Indonesia]] on 24 June 1982.
*[[Singapore Airlines#Accidents and incidents|Singapore Airlines Flight 21A]] - a similar incident which also occurred over Indonesia on 13 July 1982.
*[[List of airline flights that required gliding]]
*[[Ring of Fire]]
*[[Volcanic ash and aviation safety]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=PH-BFC&distinct_entry=true Airliners.Net – Picture of the plane that carried KLM Flight 867]
*{{ASN accident|id=19891215-1}}
*"[https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001213X29893 NTSB Identification: ANC90FA020.]" [[National Transportation Safety Board]]&nbsp;— Record of the incident
*[https://www.planespotters.net/photo/757175/ph-bfc-klm-royal-dutch-airlines-boeing-747-406m Photo PH-BFC KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 747-406(M), 14 October 1989]
*[http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs030-97/ U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey ]
*[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1990/1990%20-%200013.html Flightglobal 9 January 1990 {Volcano Flames Out KLM 747}]
*[http://www.cusvo.org/docs/volcanichazards031606.pdf Volcanic Hazards Impacts on Aviation], [[United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation|U.S. Senate Commerce Committee]]
* [http://phys.org/news191094738.html Cockpit audio recording] via  phys.org

{{KLM Royal Dutch Airlines}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1989}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in the 1980s}}

{{Coord|61.1717|-149.9867|type:event_globe:earth_region:US-AK|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klm Flight 867}}
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by engine failure]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by volcanic events]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents in Alaska]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1989]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 747]]
[[Category:KLM accidents and incidents|867]]
[[Category:1989 in Alaska]]
[[Category:December 1989 in the United States]]
[[Category:Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport]]