Date:	Monday 7 June 1965
Time:	21:36
Type:	Fokker F-27 Friendship 200
Owner/operator:	Balair, operating for Swissair
Registration:	HB-AAU
MSN:	10200
Year of manufacture:	0
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 50
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Minor
Location:	Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (EHAM) -   Netherlands
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:	LSGG
Destination airport:	LFSB
Investigating agency:	BFU Switz.
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
Balair Fokker F-27-200 HB-AAU was operating for Swissair as the scheduled weekday flight SR050 from Geneva to Basel-Mulhouse, carrying 46 passengers in addition to a crew of 4.

The aircraft took off at 16:50 local time. While enroute to Basel, the aircraft was struck by lightning near Bern, the entry and exit points of the charge being the right side of the nose and the right wing tip respectively. The crew noticed damage to the right wing tip and notified ATC of this.

The flight was normal until the approach into Basel was initiated around 17:24 local time, and the pilot noticed only two greens, with the nose landing gear indicator on red. An overshoot was performed during which the control tower confirmed the nose landing gear had not extended.

After some unsuccessful attempts at extending the landing gear, the decision was taken to divert to Amsterdam-Schiphol airport in the Netherlands. This was due to the airport's longer runways and the presence of the Fokker factory, as well as the aircraft's ample fuel reserves which allowed for the diversion. At 18:17 local time the Fokker left the Basel approach area, arriving over Schiphol some 2 1/2 hours later.

Schiphol airport was warned about the impending emergency landing, and runway 06-24 was prepared by the airport emergency services, with a 500 m-long, 3 m-wide foampad being applied to the runway. Meanwhile the chief test pilot of the Fokker factory was called to the control tower so he could assist the crew in additional trouble shooting. Once the aircraft had arrived over Schiphol, the test pilot guided the aircraft crew through additional procedures for an emergency extension of the nose landing gear, however when this was unsuccessful the decision was taken to make a nosewheel-up landing on runway 06-24

The aircraft performed an emergency landing around 21:36 local time, some four hours after the emergency began. The aircraft touched down on its main landing gears, lowering onto its nose and the foampad some 300 meters past the path's beginning. It continued some 50 meters on its nose before coming to a stop.

Damage to the aircraft was relatively minor. The aircraft had sustained damage to the right wingtip and the right hand side of the nose due to the lightning strike. The energy of the lightning strike had caused the air inside the landing gear section to heat up and expand, slightly deforming the nose to the point the nose doors would no longer open. Further damage was caused to the landing gear doors by the emergency landing itself, and subsequent attempts during the aircraft's recovery to open the landing gear doors in order to deploy the nose landing gear.

Following the emergency landing, the emergency procedures at Schiphol were altered. As the airport had been warned in advance, a state of emergency had been communicated to emergency departments surrounding the airport, and from there, information had seeped through to the press. This resulted in a crowd of several thousands gathering at the airport perimeter to see the emergency landing, gridlocking the roads around the airport and potentially blocking the path of emergency services. Arrangements were made with the press to no longer communicate over impending emergency landings to the larger public to avoid such occurrences in the future.

BFU Switzerland
https://www.hdekker.info/Nieuwe%20map/1965.htm#HB-AAU
Algemeen Handelsblad 08/06/1965 (via www.delpher.nl)
De Maasbode 08/06/1965 (via www.delpher.nl)
Trouw 08/06/1965 (via www.delpher.nl)
De Telegraaf 09/06/1965 (via www.delpher.nl)
De Volkskrant 09/06/1965 (via www.delpher.nl)

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
14-Jul-2024 19:38	ASN	Added
01-Jan-2025 15:40	NY	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, ]
01-Jan-2025 15:40	ASN	Updated [Aircraft type, ]
02-Jan-2025 07:20	NY	Updated [Date, ]