airline safety

KLM safety record

KLM hasn't had a fatal accident on its own flights since 1977 — almost fifty years. On airlines like KLM, the chance of a passenger dying in an accident is about 1 in 80 million per flight.

Check your flight →
No one on board has died in an accident since 1977
Chance of dying in an accident, per flight1 in 80 million

For airlines based in the Netherlands and the other countries in the same safety group, 2018–2022 (MIT study).

Put another way: if you took a flight every single day, you would, on average, fly for about 219,000 years before a fatal accident happened to you.

the record

Almost fifty years without a fatal accident on its own flights

KLM's last fatal accident on its own flights was at Tenerife in March 1977: in fog, a KLM 747 began its take-off without clearance and collided with a Pan Am 747 on the runway, killing 583 people, 248 of them on the KLM aircraft. It is the deadliest accident in aviation, and it changed how cockpit crews work together and how pilots and controllers speak to each other.

The only fatal accident under the KLM name since was in 1994, when a KLM Cityhopper Saab 340 crashed at Amsterdam during a go-around; a faulty warning light had led the crew to believe an engine had a problem. In 1981 a Fokker F28 of NLM Cityhopper, KLM's wholly owned regional airline flying under its own name, broke up in a tornado near Moerdijk; 17 people died. Both are shown apart on the line below.

KLM, founded in 1919, is the oldest airline still flying under its original name. Its accidents before 1970 are not on the line below.

since 1970

Every fatal accident, on one line

Solid dots are its own flights; hollow ones were flown by a partner or subsidiary under its name; grey rings are hijackings and attacks. Deaths that investigators don't class as accidents (such as trespassers) aren't shown.

197019801990200020102020
Its own flights Partner, subsidiary or predecessor airline flights
  1. Apr 1994 KL433 · Saab 340 · Amsterdam SchipholA KLM Cityhopper flight: a faulty warning light led the crew to believe an engine had a problem, and the aircraft crashed during the go-around with power set on only one engine (Dutch investigation).
  2. Oct 1981 NLM Cityhopper HN431 · Fokker F28 · near MoerdijkThe aircraft broke up in a tornado and crashed; all 17 on board died. NLM Cityhopper was KLM's wholly owned regional airline, flying under its own name.
  3. Mar 1977 KL4805 · Boeing 747 · TenerifeIn fog, the KLM 747 began its take-off without clearance and collided with a Pan Am 747 on the runway (Spanish investigation); 583 people died in all.
your flight

Flying KLM soon? See the bumps on your route

Enter where you're flying from and to. The forecast shows where the bumpy stretches are, how strong they'll be and when in the flight they come, from global weather forecasts and live pilot reports.

The day you fly, in the departure airport's own calendar.

Try London to New York Denver to Seattle Singapore to Sydney Los Angeles to Honolulu
at a glance

KLM in numbers

Founded
1919
Country
Netherlands
Alliance
SkyTeam
Main hubs
Amsterdam Schiphol
IATA safety audit (IOSA)
Registered
the fleet

What KLM flies

Tap a plane for its own safety record.

Boeing 777 See its safety record Airbus A330 See its safety record Boeing 787 Dreamliner See its safety record Airbus A320 family See its safety record Boeing 737 NG See its safety record Embraer E-Jets See its safety record
on the day

Flying KLM? Know before you board.

  • ✓Which aircraft is on your flight — the exact type and its record, updated if the airline swaps it
  • ✓The turbulence forecast for your exact flight, refreshed as new weather comes in
  • ✓Delays and gate changes on your Lock Screen, before the departure board
  • ✓Where you are in the flight, and how long until the bumpy stretch is behind you
An iPhone Lock Screen showing the FlyBud Live Activity: Barcelona to Istanbul, gate B23, boarding, with the same flight in the Dynamic Island at the top of the screen.

KLM safety questions

How safe is KLM?

KLM hasn't had a fatal accident on its own flights since 1977 — almost fifty years. On airlines like KLM, the chance of a passenger dying in an accident is about 1 in 80 million per flight. Every fact on this page is sourced — the list is at the bottom.

What is KLM's safety rating?

FlyBud doesn't invent a score. What matters is the record, which you can check: no one on board has died in an accident on a KLM mainline flight since Tenerife in 1977. It is registered with IATA's operational safety audit (IOSA), which registered airlines must renew every two years.

Has KLM ever crashed?

Yes: its last fatal accident on its own flights was Tenerife in 1977. Its regional airlines have had two since — NLM Cityhopper near Moerdijk in 1981 and KLM Cityhopper at Amsterdam in 1994.

sources

Where these facts come from

Every fact on this page is from official accident reports, the airline's own filings or the published accident record.

Flying KLM soon?

FlyBud shows your exact aircraft, the turbulence forecast for your route and every delay and gate change as it happens.