First published 1994 by James & James (Science Publishers) Ltd
This edition published 2013 by Earthscan
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1994 James & James (Science Publishers) Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-873936-34-4 (pbk)
Typeset by Ann van der Zwalmen, Leiden, The Netherlands
Front cover photo: Ad van Denderen
Back cover photo: ANP
Partly translated from the dutch by Anthony Fudge & Associates,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Introduction
The evening of Sunday 4 October 1992. A nightmare scenario: a Boeing 747 freighter, out of control, bored its way into two apartment blocks, taking the people living there totally unawares. A disaster out of the blue, with nothing to salvage or save for the first few hours. It took a week before the city of Amsterdam and the Netherlands as a whole could sum up the tragedy in a single phrase: the Bijlmer disaster, after the name of the well-known high-rise Amsterdam suburb where the crash occurred. It cost 43 lives, including the aircrafts crew of four.
The Amsterdam authorities and city services are used to dealing with sudden problems. But the tragedy that occurred at 18.36 that Sunday evening was to be the start of an extraordinary period of intensive activity and effort that demanded, across a broad front, the utmost the citys people and organisations could possibly give.
In the Dutch context, but possibly also from a wider Western perspective, the Bijlmer air disaster represented a paradigmatic example of the vulnerability of major urban centres, and the complex social, political and organisational issues that this situation raises:
An air crash. Accidents involving aircraft always appeal to the public imagination and by definition attract widespread attention. This relates to more general feelings of danger inevitably prompted by air travel.1 Despite the relatively low danger of an aircraft accident, and the fact that air travel is safer than, for instance, going by road, the consequences of any such accident are usually instantly fatal. There is no escape from a crashing aircraft; and images of aircraft wreckage stay imprinted on the mind for a very long time.
An air crash in a residential area. The fact that the aircraft, a Boeing 747 one of the largest types in civil aviation hit a major housing complex, causing an inferno, was shocking in itself. But when an air crash kills not only the crew and passengers, but also a large number of civilians on the ground, one approaches the worst-case scenario.
To an extent, the fact that air crashes involve the deaths of a large number of passengers and crew has become an accepted risk.2 Not for nothing are emergency instructions given before every flight. And not for nothing are there strict regulations to the effect that airports must have fire brigades on permanent stand-by. But when unsuspecting civilians die because an aircraft suddenly crashes on their block of flats, we have an unacceptable risk situation.3 The safety of people living in the neighbourhood is rarely a factor in discussions on siting an airport or building an additional runway. Insofar as the location is a point at issue, it is almost invariably from the angle of noise and other pollution.4 Here, the only difference from a worst-case scenario was that fortunately the 747 was a freighter, with only one passenger and a crew of three on board.
An apocalyptic scene. Several of our interviewees experienced the Bijlmer disaster as a nightmare scenario. The fact that it happened after dark made the flames even more savage and threatening. With justification newspaper headlines read, like something out of a film.5 Some of those involved mentioned the bizarre and unreal nature of the disaster.
The Bijlmer of all places. The Dutch are familiar with the Bijlmermeer the Bijlmer for short as one of those areas where contemporary social problems have a way of accumulating. For many people in the Netherlands, the blocks of flats so characteristic of the Bijlmer are an object lesson in how not to do it as regards town planning.6 For many people the very name Bijlmermeer had become synonymous with aggression, crime, drug abuse, urban decay, empty dwellings and other social misery. Slowly, and with great difficulty, the local authorities had succeeded in rechristening the area with the more neutral title Amsterdam Southeast. But, given its reputation, it was no surprise that many peoples reaction to the news of the air crash was not the Bijlmer again.
Multi-cultural mix. A great many different ethnic groupings were involved in the disaster. From the very start, community organisations represented the specific problems and interests of their people. The multi-cultural nature of the disaster was most visible during the public mourning ceremonies on Sunday 11 October. Each grouping bade its departed farewell in their own way. The colourful and diverse character of the memorial service in the RAI exhibition centre was impressive from every point of view.
Ongoing uncertainty. The Bijlmer disaster continued to hold many in its grip for a long time, due to the extended period of uncertainty as to the exact death toll. Initially it was feared that at least 250 people had died. The large number of missing persons and the many rumours for example, about a crowd allegedly attending a disco party in the basement being buried under the debris seemed to bear out this high figure. Later it transpired that far fewer had died. But the high initial figure remained in many peoples minds for a long time.
Accumulation of problems. The days and weeks after the crash saw a constant stream of new events and problems arising. Obviously there was considerable interest in the actual cause of the crash: the final minutes of the flight, communications with the control tower, the dragging of ponds and lakes for aircraft debris, the missing voice recorder, the finding of the black box. But, in the meantime, the visible social consequences of the disaster also produced their fair share of dramatic moments: the operation to recover bodies, the memorial service, the problems in providing relief, the hundreds of illegal immigrants outside the Population Register building on one of Amsterdams main canals. And so the disaster was notable not only for its emergency phase, but also after several days had passed for a whole range of equally striking post-disaster developments.
