Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T14:01:15.392Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

February 2009 Airplane Crash at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport: An Overview of Injuries and Patient Distribution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2011

Ingri L.E. Postma ,
Jasper Winkelhagen ,
Frank W. Bloemers ,
Martin J. Heetveld ,
Taco S. Bijlsma  and
J. Carel Goslings
Ingri L.E. Postma*
Affiliation:
Trauma Unit Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Jasper Winkelhagen
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, Antonius hospital, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands
Frank W. Bloemers
Affiliation:
Department of Trauma Surgery, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Martin J. Heetveld
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, Kennemer Gasthuis, Haarlem, the Netherlands
Taco S. Bijlsma
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, Spaarne Hospital, Hoofddorp, the Netherlands
J. Carel Goslings
Affiliation:
Trauma Unit Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
*
Correspondence: Ms. I.L.E Postma, MD-PhD student Trauma Unit AMC, G4-134Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZAmsterdam, the Netherlands E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the injuries and distribution of casualties resulting from the crash of Turkish Airlines flight TK 1951 near Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands on 25 of February 2009.

Methods: This was a retrospective, descriptive study. Based on a review of the hospital records for all casualties of the airplane crash, triage at the scene, time to emergency department, Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) and Injury Severity Score (ISS), mortality, length of hospital stay and surgical procedures were abstracted.

Results: Of the 135 passengers, nine died on-scene. A total of 126 survivors were examined in 15 hospitals; data for all survivors were available for the study. Median time between crash and arrival at an emergency department was 3.5 hours (range 1.25-5.5 hours). Six passengers were uninjured and 66 were admitted to hospital. A total of 305 injuries were recorded. The majority were head and facial injuries (92), spinal injuries (35), and fractures of extremities (38). Eighteen percent of the patients had a spinal injury. The mean ISS was 6.3 (range = 1–57). The ISS score was >15 for 13 patients. Surgical procedures (80) were necessary in 23 patients. There was no in-hospital mortality.

Conclusions: Although the accident was in an urban area, there was a significant delay between the time of the accident and the arrival of the casualties at hospital emergency departments. The Turkish Airlines crash provides extensive information for research into mass-casualty or disaster management, triage, plane crash injuries, and survivability. The “Medical Research Turkish Airlines Crash” (MOTAC) study group currently is investigating several of these issues.

Type
Case Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , August 2011 , pp. 299 - 304
Copyright
Copyright Postma © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Dutch Safety Board: Crashed during approach, Boeing 737-800, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport; The Hague 2010; available at http://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/docs/rapporten/Rapport_TA_ENG_web.pdf.Google Scholar
Goslings, JC, Gouma, DJ: [Trauma registration. A promising, but difficult process]. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 2009;153:744–746.Google ScholarPubMed
Baker, SP, O’Neill, B, Haddon, W Jr., Long, WB: The injury severity score: A method for describing patients with multiple injuries and evaluating emergency care. J Trauma 1974;14:187–196.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyd, CR, Tolson, MA, Copes, WS: Evaluating trauma care: the TRISS method. Trauma Score and the Injury Severity Score. J Trauma 1987;27:370–378.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lerner, EB, Moscati, RM: The golden hour: Scientific fact or medical “urban legend”? Acad Emerg Med 2001;8:758–760.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dutch Safety Board: The Hague 2010; available at www.onderzoeksraad.nl/docs/rapporten/rapport_TA_ENG_Web.pdf Assistance after airplane accident Turkish Airlines, Haarlemmermeer.Google Scholar
Dutch Public Order and Safety Directorate and Health Care Inspectorate: June 2009; available at www.ioov.nl/@120522/eindrapportage Polder Crash 25th February 2009.Google Scholar
Rowles, JM, Robertson, CS, Roberts, SN: General surgical injuries in survivors of the M1 Kegworth air crash. Nottingham, Leicester, Derby, Belfast Study Group. Ann R Coll Surg Engl 1990;72:378–381.Google ScholarPubMed