What are the chances?

By Jonathan van Bilsen

History has a habit of hiding in plain sight. It is often the smallest, most unremarkable details that are overlooked, set aside, or forgotten entirely. And yet, when chance brings those fragments back together, they can form a story far larger than any one moment. This was one of those occasions.

I arrived in Canada with my family on August 14th, many years ago, unaware at the time that the journey itself would later take on a deeper meaning. We flew from Amsterdam aboard what was then considered the pinnacle of air travel: the Lockheed Super Constellation, known affectionately as the “Connie.” Sleek, elegant, and unmistakable with its triple tail, it was the last word in luxury. It carried up to ninety passengers, with first class tucked away at the rear, mercifully distant from the engines.

Of the 579 Super Constellations ever built, this one had the range to cross oceans, but not without pauses. Our route took us from Amsterdam to Shannon, Ireland, then on to Gander, Newfoundland, and finally Montreal. Seventeen hours in total, eleven of them over open water. At the time, it was simply a long trip. Nothing more.

Last year, while idly scrolling on my iPad, I stumbled across a photograph of the Connie. It stopped me. Memories surfaced; dim, fragmented, but unmistakable. Then, just below the image, a headline caught my eye. It dated back to the same year as my flight: a Super Constellation crash off the coast of Ireland.

The aircraft was KLM Flight 607-E. It had departed Amsterdam, landed in Shannon, and was bound for Gander before continuing on to New York. Shortly after take-off from Ireland, a propeller malfunctioned. Metal fragments entered the oil system. The plane went down. All ninety-nine people on board, passengers and crew, were lost. At the time, it was the deadliest civil aviation disaster involving a single aircraft.

What froze me was not just the tragedy, but the coincidence. The flight followed the same route as mine. It was the same type of aircraft. The same year. The same day. It had left Schiphol Airport barely an hour before we did.

I felt a chill I could not shake. I had never known about the crash. I am not sure my parents did either. Over the years, I have experienced six aircraft mishaps across more than eight hundred flights. But this, my very first time in the air, stands apart. That was certainly not part of the plan.

Jonathan van Bilsen is a television host, award winning photographer, published author, columnist and keynote speaker. Follow his escapades at photosNtravel.com