El Al Flight 1862
El Al Flight 1862 was an aviation accident that took place on October 4, 1992 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. A Boeing 747 cargo jet from the Israeli airline El Al, coming from New York, made a stopover at the Amsterdam-Schiphol airport to refuel its tanks and carry out various operations on the ground. After this technical stop, the flight was scheduled to continue its journey to Tel Aviv. A few minutes after takeoff, engine number 3 fell off due to metal fatigue with the pins that connected the engine pylon to the wing. Engine number 3 proceeded to knock off engine number 4 from the right wing. The aircraft became uncontrollable and crashed in an Amsterdam neighborhood called Bijlmermeer. For this reason, the accident is also known as the Bijlmer Disaster.
 Aftermath of the disaster | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 4 October 1992 |
| Summary | Crashed following dual engine separation and loss of control |
| Site | Amsterdam-Zuidoost, Netherlands 52°19′8″N 4°58′30″E |
| Total fatalities | 43 |
| Total injuries | 26 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747-258F |
| Operator | El Al |
| Registration | 4X-AXG |
| Flight origin | John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, US |
| Stopover | Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Netherlands |
| Destination | Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Occupants | 4 |
| Passengers | 1 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 4 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 39 |
| Ground injuries | 26 (11 serious, 15 minor) |
All 4 of the occupants on board were killed, along with 43 ground fatalities when the Boeing 747 slammed into an 11 story apartment building.
The crash is the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in the Netherlands.
In popular culture
The crash was depicted in National Geographic documentaries Seconds From Disaster episode "Amsterdam Air Crash" and Air Crash Investigation episode "High Rise Catastrophe".