Crash site | Copenhagen/Kastrup airport, Denmark |
Airline | KLM Royal Dutch Airlines |
Aircraft | Douglas DC-3 – PH-TCR – The Flying Dutchman |
Route | Amsterdam – Copenhagen – Stockholm/Bromma |
Crew | 6 – 0 survivors |
Passengers | 16 – 0 survivors |
The crash
The plane arrived at Copenhagen at 14.55. At 15.31 it took off for Stockholm. At an altitude of 75 meters the plane suddenly stalled and crashed about one kilometre from the runway. The plane immediately caught fire.
The cause of the accident was failure to remove the elevator locking pins which had been mounted while on ground at Kastrup.
The mail
On board the plane was 82 kg of mail from Belgium and Denmark mainly destined for Sweden and Finland. Due to the fire only a part of the mail was recovered.
The recovered mail was brought to The Reexpedition Post Office in Copenhagen where it was sorted out.
Number of items in my records:
To | From Denmark | From Belgium |
Denmark | – | 2 (*) |
Finland | 9 | 16 |
Sweden | 1 | 18 |
Russia | 1 | 0 |
(*) A couple of items from Belgium to addresses in Denmark are known. Perhaps one mail bag was by mistake not unloaded in Copenhagen?
Most of the recovered mail was forwarded in a Danish service cover (Type J. 6). One example of a Swedish service cover is known (see under examples of mail.
Labels with Danish text were used with mail from Denmark. A few examples of Danish labels on mail from Belgium are known to Finland (1) and Sweden (2).
Labels with Swedish text were widely used on mail from Belgium (several types are known).
A.
A.
The Danish Post produced labels with text in Danish language which can be translated to “Damaged in the air crash at Kastrup Airport on 26. January 1947. The Reexpedition Post Office”.
The size of the labels vary as they were printed on large size paper and later cut from the sheets.
Even if the text is the same I have recorded 3 variations in the arranging of the text:
A-a.
Danish label.
Size textblock: 111 x 20 mm.
A-b.
Danish label.
Size textblock: 111 x 20 mm.
A-c.
Danish label.
Size textblock: 114 x 20 mm.
B-a.
Swedish label.
Size textblock: 80 x 29 mm.
B-b.
Swedish label.
Size textblock: 93 x 29 mm.
C.
Swedish label.
Size textblock: 84 x 28 mm.
D.
Swedish label.
Size textblock: 90 x 16 mm.
E.
Swedish label.
Size textblock: ?
G-a.
Danish service cover.
Size: 214 x 150 mm.
Type: J. 6 (1-44)
Examples of mail
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