Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten
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| Born | 5 February 1927 Lisse, Netherlands
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| Died | 27 March 1977 (aged 50) Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
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| Cause of death | Plane crash |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Alma mater | KLM |
| Occupation | Pilot |
| Years active | 1950–1977 |
| Known for | KLM's chief instructor, Tenerife airport disaster |
| Spouse(s) | Henriëtte Veldhuyzen van Zanten-Segers (b. 1926) |
| Children | 2 |
Jacob Louis Veldhuyzen van Zanten (born February 5, 1927 – died March 27, 1977) was a Dutch aircraft captain. He was also a skilled flight instructor. He was the captain of KLM Flight 4805. Sadly, he died in the Tenerife airport disaster. This event was the deadliest accident in aviation history. Jacob was KLM's main flight instructor. He often appeared in their advertisements.
A Pilot's Life: Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten
Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten was born in Lisse, Netherlands. He earned his first pilot's license in 1947. By 1950, he had his commercial pilot's license. That same year, he started working for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. He began as a flight director. In 1951, he became a first officer on the Douglas DC-3.
Jacob became qualified to fly the Boeing 747 in 1971. Later that year, he and two friends went to Seattle. They picked up KLM’s very first 747 plane. It was named the Mississippi. At the time of the disaster, he had flown for 11,700 hours. About 1,545 of those hours were on the Boeing 747.
Besides flying, he was also the chief flight instructor for the Boeing 747. He was in charge of training all KLM pilots on this type of aircraft. He also led KLM's flight training department.
Jan Bartelski was a KLM captain who knew Jacob. He described Jacob as a serious but friendly person. He said Jacob was very smart. He was seen as the company's expert on the Boeing 747.
He believed in partnership, to the extent that he insisted on his first officers addressing him during flight as "Jaap" and not "Captain Van Zanten".
This shows he liked to work as a team.
Jacob was photographed for a KLM advertising campaign. This happened just before the Tenerife airport disaster. Some thought it was because of his high rank. But Jan Bartelski said Jacob was just the only captain available. Other captains were away flying.
When news of the disaster broke, KLM leaders looked for Jacob. They wanted him to help with the investigation. They then realized he was the captain of the plane involved. He had died in the accident.
Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten lived in Sassenheim, Netherlands. He lived there with his wife and two children.
The Tenerife Airport Disaster
The Tenerife airport disaster happened on March 27, 1977. It was a crash between two Boeing 747 passenger planes. The accident happened on the runway of Los Rodeos Airport. This airport is now called Tenerife North Airport. The crash killed 583 people. It is the deadliest accident in aviation history.
All 248 people on KLM flight 4805 died. This included Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten. Also, 335 people on Pan Am flight 1736 died. Sixty-one people on the Pan Am flight survived.
The accident happened in heavy fog. Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten was flying KLM 4805. He thought he had permission to take off. But he had only been cleared to move on the runway. Pan Am 1736 was still on that same runway.
KLM 4805 crashed into Pan Am 1736. The Pan Am plane was moving in the opposite direction. The KLM crew knew the Pan Am plane was behind them. But they thought it had already left the runway. This was because of unusual radio calls from the control tower.
Many things led to this disaster. A recent terrorist bombing had caused unusual airport conditions. Captain van Zanten was also in a hurry. He was worried about new rules limiting his flying hours. At that time, copilots usually followed the senior pilot's decisions. This rule was changed after the disaster. The control tower also thought the KLM 747 was still. They could not see it because of the thick fog.
Aircraft Jacob Could Fly
Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten was qualified to fly many types of aircraft. Here are some of them:
- Douglas DC-3
- Convair CV240/340
- Lockheed Constellation
- Douglas DC-6
- Douglas DC-7C
- Vickers Viscount 803
- Douglas DC-9
- Boeing 747
