The Crash of a KLM DC-3 at Kastrup/Copenhagen 1947

The 1947 KLM Douglas DC-3 Copenhagen accident was the crash of a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight from Copenhagen to Stockholm on 26 January 1947.

The DC-3 that crashed, Photo: KLM

Recovery KLM DC-3 Crash

Kastrup Crash 1947

The accident occurred shortly after the Douglas DC-3 took off from Kastrup in Denmark. All 22 passengers and Crew are killed including Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden (at the time of his death, second in line to the Swedish throne), U.S. opera singer Grace Moore, and Danish actress Gerda Neumann.

Prince Gustaf Adolf was the father of the present king of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf. A hundred thousand people attended his funeral.

Moore’s body was flown to Paris on another KLM aircraft, and she was buried on 3 February 1947 with more than 500 people in attendance.

Prince Gustaf Adolf Oscar Fredrik Arthur Edmund, Duke of Västerbotten was a Swedish prince and heir to the Swedish throne. Born in Stockholm, he was the eldest son of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden (the future King Gustaf VI Adolf) and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught and a great-grandson of Queen Victoria. Gustaf Adolf was the father of the current king, Carl XVI Gustaf. He was known by his last given name, Edmund, in the family.

Prins Gustaf Adolf

Gerda Neumann was a Danish film actress. She appeared in nine films between 1936 and 1947.

Gerda and Ulrik_Neumann in recording studio. Photo: Allphoto, Stockholm

Grace Moore was an American operatic soprano and actress in musical theatre and film. She was nicknamed the “Tennessee Nightingale.” Her films helped to popularize opera by bringing it to a larger audience.

Grace More, Photo: Van Vechten Collection

Let us not forget the other 13 passengers and 6 crew members who perished in the crash.

The probable cause of the crash was determined to be failure to remove the gust locks that had secured the aircraft’s elevators while it was parked. It was the worst aviation accident in Denmark at the time of the crash.

Sources, Wikipedia, Flyvertosset, KLM, Politiken