| Date: | Friday 15 December 1989 |
| Time: | 11:48 |
| Type: |  Boeing 747-406M |
| Owner/operator: | KLM Royal Dutch Airlines |
| Registration: | PH-BFC |
| MSN: | 23982/735 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1989 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 705 hours |
| Engine model: | General Electric CF6-80C2B1F |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 245 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial, repaired |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Anchorage, AK -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Amsterdam-Schiphol International Airport (AMS/EHAM) |
| Anchorage International Airport, AK (ANC/PANC) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
At FL250 the aircraft flew into a normal looking cloud, which turned out to be a volcanic ash cloud (the result of an eruption of Mount Redoubt). Power was added to climb out of the cloud. About 10-15 seconds later all 4 engines failed and the standby electrical system failed. The crew were able to restart the engines after numerous attempts. The no. 1 and 2 engines were relit while descending through FL130 and the remaining 2 engines were relit at FL110. The aircraft landed safely at Anchorage, substantially damaged by the in-flight blasting by volcanic ash. The windshields were damaged, as were internal aircraft systems, avionics and electronics.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "Inadvertent encounter with volcanic ash cloud, which resulted in damage from foreign material (foreign object) and subsequent compressor stalling of all engines. A factor related to the accident was: the lack of available information about the ash cloud to all personnel involved."
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
Images:
photo (c) H. Ranter / ASN; Amsterdam-Schiphol International Airport (AMS/EHAM); 26 August 1990
Revision history:
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