08 Jan

Last Flight of Captain Desiree van Leeuwen @ KLM

After 37 years and 2 months Captain Desiree van Leeuwen made her last flight due to retirement at KLM. Final flight to Johannesburg and back Amsterdam, assisted by First Officers Evelien van Puijenbroek as ‘Wingwoman’ and Vincent Aupers as ‘Wingman’ Flight KL591, stand F3 with enginestart at the gate. Thereafter a 18L departure and operated with a B777-300ER reg PHBVF. Backflight KL592 and with final callsign Desiree-592 got a RWY 18R landing and taxied to final stand F9. This fligh got operated with a B777-200 reg PHBQE Videostills………… […]

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24 Dec

Last Flight of Captain Marc Janssen @ KLM

Captain Marc Janssen made his last flight, after 37 years, due to retirement at KLM. Assisted by ‘Wingman’ FO Wiggert de Vries and ‘Wingwoman’ SO Lisa Woortman. With the third try he finally departed and heading for Bangkok. First his Sundayflight should get a change of aircraft with the PHBVB. Unfortunately this flight with stand F6 got cancelled with a 22hr delay. The 2nd try would be at monday at stand Echo17 and again with the PHBVB. Due to technical issues they would’nt depart with this aircraft. My colleagues of KLM Aircraft Towing Department towed an other B777-300ER, reg PHBVG, […]

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09 Dec

Last Flight of Captain Ad Braspenning @ KLM

Captain Ad Braspenning made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Final destination and retourflight to Rio de Janeiro and back home Amsterdam. As suprise by his son FO Martijn I did operate and film also the final pushback at AMS. Stand G8 for pushback. Flight KL705 got operated with a B777-200 reg PHBQI Cpt Ad got assisted by FO Casper van der Plas and SO Jeroen Braspenning as his ‘Wingmen’ !!! Retourflight KL706 got happily diverted with a landing on runway 27. Watched by friends in the main tower and after vacating runway 27 at holdingpoint N4, he […]

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10 Nov

Last Flight of Captain Zeger Bakker @ KLM

Captain Zeger made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Started flying KLM in 1985 and ending his career after almost 38 years Flight KL736 , CUR-AMS , Curacao-Amsterdam with final landing on runway 18R. Very special note Zeger got assisted by his nephew SO Reinier Bakker as his ‘Wingman’. This retirementflight got operated with a B777-300ER, the ‘Orange Pride’ reg PHBVA Videostills…………

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10 Oct

Last Flight of Captain Bart Hummel @ KLM

After almost 37 years of flying Captain B777-787 Bart Hummel made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. (Jan 1986 – October 2022) First Officer Boaz Reisel was his ‘Wingman’ for this flight to JFK New York and back Amsterdam. Sister Maud Hummel did accompany her brother at the backflight as Senior Purser. KL641 AMS-JFK 7-10-2022, stand D4 , RWY S5 24 and operated with the B787-10 Dreamliner with reg PHBKD. KL646 JFK-AMS 9-10-2022 , RWY 18R , final stand D2 , operated with a B777-200 reg PHBQG Former typerates; B747, MD11, B767, FK27, MUII) / FAA: ATPL LR-Jet […]

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26 Jul

Last Flight of Captain Hans Stronkhorst @ KLM

Captain Hans Stronkhorst got his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Salt Lake City was his final destination and back Amsterdam. Operating his final pushback from stand F7 with pushbacktruck KG. Flight KL609 got operated with a B789 Dreamliner reg PHBHL. Hans got his last arrival at runway 27 and did shut down the engines at stand F9 with B789 Dreamliner reg PHBHC Captain Hans got assisted by First Officer Bas Nederlof and Second Officer Bram van Spronsen as his ‘Wingmen’ Videostills…..

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11 Jul

Last Flight of First Officer B747F Hella Zinkweg @ Martinair Cargo

First Officer B747F Hella Zinkweg made her final flight due to retirement at Martinair Cargo. Awesome detail her husband was the Captain and Wingman on this flight, and they got joined by their children. Flight MP7762-Heavy from Miami heading for homebase Amsterdam. This flight was operated with the B747-406ERF reg PHCKC and got a runway 06 arrival. Vacating her B747 Freighter via S8 for stand S84 after a very smooth landing. Videostills………..

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17 Jun

Last Flight of Captain Arno ‘Slick’ Besselaar @ KLM

Captain Arno ‘Slick’ Besselaar made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Together with his ‘Wingwoman’ Lisa Woortman and her father Bart Woortman as ‘Wingmen’ on their way to Bogota-Cartagena. I (Bokito) operated his final pushback at gate Echo 19. In front of this pushback I got a pushback from stand F3 ,left on taxiway Alpha. Because of time limit I asked permission to apprach KL741 via taxiway alpha and Alpha 14. This was a real surprise for Arno. Captain Bart Woortman was his mate at Royal Airforce Netherlands. KL741 got operated with the B789 Dreamliner reg PHBHG. Backflight […]

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14 Apr

Last Flight of Captain Ton Leenders @ KLM

Captain Ton made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Flight KL735 (callsign KLM125-Heavy) heading for Curacao. Together with FO Andrew and SO Mark as his ‘Wingmen’. KL125 got a RWY24 departure and operated with a B777-300ER reg PH-BVV. Backflight KL734 got a RWY27 arrival,with a B777-200 reg PH-BQH, and docked at gate Echo22. Videostills…………

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27 Mar

Last Flight of Captain Friso Oosterbaan @ KLM

Captain Friso got his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Curacao as final destination and back homebase Amsterdam. The retourflight was operated with FO Mark Mulder and SO Brandon Out as his ‘Wingmen’. Flight KL735, with callsign KLM125-Heavy, got a wet and windy takeoff. The departure was the morning after ‘Storm Franklin’. KLM125 got a Siera-6 RWY24 departure and operated with a B777-300ER reg PH-BVV. Backflight KL736 ( and I got duty,so was’nt able to film the landing……but filmed the arrival and docking at VOP Echo 22) got a RWY18R landing and taxied and docked at final VOP Echo […]

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01 Feb

Last Flight of Captain Dick Vreenegoor @ KLM – Final Edition

Captain Dick Vreenegoor made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Heading to SXM and back Amsterdam with First Officer Joeri and son Matthijs Vreenegoor (Second Officer KLM B777) KL729 AMS-SXM operated with an A330-300 reg PH-AKA /// KL730 SXM-AMS , operated with an A330-200 reg PH-AOA and landing at 1st Christmas day. Videostills……..

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12 Dec

Last Flight of Captain A330 Noël Nieuwlands @ KLM

Captain Noël Nieuwlands made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Together with First Officer Thijs Sijl as his ‘Wingman’ a final retourflight ot Washington. I operated the pushback ( push & pull ) from gate Echo 5. Once I reached Echo 5 with the pushbacktruck with callsign KJ , his son Bart told about the surprise of Bokito. KL651 heading to IAD Washington with A330-300 reg PH-AKA and a RWY18L departure. Happily I was able to film the takeoff as well from Echo-buffer Echo77. His final landing with the PH-AKE on RWY27 and final gate Echo2. Videostills………

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28 Sep

Last flight of Captain Jos de Pee @ KLM

Captain Jos made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Together with Captain Jaap Blijleven and First Officer Duco van der Werf as his ‘Wingmen’ , Jos’ final flight with SXM-CUR ( St Martin – Curacao ) as destination and back to Amsterdam. Flight KL789 departed to SXM-CUR on RWY24 and operated with the A330-200 reg PH-AOB. Backflight KL789 CUR-AMS got a RWY 18R landing and operated with the A330-300 reg PH-AKF. Videostills…………

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01 Sep

Last Flight of Cpt B747F Xander del Prado @ Martinair Cargo

Captain Xander del Prado made his last flight due to retirement at MartinairCargo. AMS-MIA-AMS. His last flight got operated with the B747-400ERF with reg PH-CKA Flight MP6141 with a one hour delay departed at RWY36L together with ‘Wingmen’ FO Sander de Kok and FO Jaap Schnitker. Back- and final flight MP7762 , callsign ‘DelPrado029’ , departed with a 24hr delay , and got a RWY06 arrival and supported by his ‘Wingman’ FO Charles Boom. On this flight as well…Martinair Captain Roelof van Dam and Captain André Kager.(non flying) I got appreciated by a phenomenal ‘Bokito Call’ at ATC as ‘Bokito […]

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28 Jun

Last Flight of Captain B747 Francois Luxembourg @ Martinair Cargo

Captain Francois made his last flight at Martinair Cargo due to his retirement. Flight MP6141 with an RWY36L departure and operated with the B747F reg PH-MPS. Final flight MP6162 got a RWY06 arrival and operated with the PH-CKA. Videostills……

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31 May

Last Flight of Captain Ron van Houten @ KLM

Captain Ron made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. A flight to Curacao togehter with First Officer Ben Fukur and Second Officer Pim de Wolf as his ‘Wingmen’ KL735 , callsign KLM129-Heavy, departed on runway 24 and was operated with the B777-300ER reg PH-BVP. His final landing was on runway 06 and docking at gate/VOP Echo22 , operated with the PH-BVI. Videostills………

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27 May

Last Flight of Captain Maarten Pledet @ KLM

Captain Maarten made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Flight KL771 heading to BON-AUA. Bonaire-Aruba and operated by the B777-200 reg PH-BQP. RWY 24 with a ‘Bergi-1-Siera’ departure………full wet runway and cloudbusting during climbout. Wingmen on this flight First Officer Jan Post and Second Officer Mark Hollink Videostills………

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14 May

Last Flight of Captain Kees van Til @ KLM

Captain Kees van Til made his last flight due to retirement at KLM and together with Captain Dimitri van der Vieren as ‘Wingman’. His final flight was a retourflight to Athene. Flight KL1581 departed after several runwaychanges on RWY 36 Center, Zwanenburgbaan. He would depart on RWY24 ,thereafter RWY09 ( and so was I positioned for the 09 takeoff) but got recleared finally. Flight KL1581, callsign KLM44Q , was operated with the B737-800 reg PH-BCL. Backflight KL1576 , callsign KLM 32E, got several runwaychanges for landing as well. RWY36R……………RWY18C………….and shortly befor turning homebase they got also diverted to RWY06 due […]

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17 Apr

Last Flight of Captain A330 Peter de Bruin @ KLM

Captain Peter de Bruin made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Flight KL789 heading to SXM and CUR,thereafter back Amsterdam. Flight KL789 got a pushback at VOP D47 operated by KLM Aircraft Towing Department and a RWY36C departure. Final landing was on RWY 06 and all operated with the Airbus A330-200 reg PH-AOB. This last flight was assisted by ‘Wingmen’ First Officers Jan Nap and Second Officer Paul van den Berk. Videostills……….

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15 Apr

Last Flight of Captain Bouke Rypma @ KLM

Cpt Bouke made his final flight due to retirement at KLM. Flight KL741 with special callsign ‘Bouke-01’ , from Cartagena heading to Amsterdam. CTG-AMS Captain Bouke got 3 ‘Wingmen’ with him to perform this remarkable flight. First Officers Onno Veltkamp & Bart Stopel and Second Officer Swayze Raj De Heij. And mentioning Cabin Attendant CA I Natalie Ritte. This flight got a landing on RWY06, Kaagbaan, and was operated with the B789 Dreamliner reg PH-BHD KL741// CTG-AMS, Cartagena-Amsterdam. Videostills…………

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06 Apr

Last Flight of Captain Peter de Kuiper @ KLM

Captain Peter de Kuiper made his last flight due to retirement at KLM Final destinations were Curacao and San Francisco, both operated with First Officer Dennis Jansen as his ‘Wingman’ . On this flight they got assisted by Second Officer Boy Tap. Captured the landing of KL736 , Curacao-Amsterdam, with a RWY 18 Center landing and operated with the B777-300ER reg PH-BVO Videostills……… His final and last flight was KL606 , San Francisco-Amsterdam, with standard callsign KL282 and final callsign ‘KLM-Peter-One’. This flight was operated with the B789 with reg PH-BHL and assisted by Second Officer Robert Schenderling. […]

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24 Feb

Last Flight of Captain Onnebert Bieringa @ Transavia

Captain Onnebert made his retirementflight to ALC-Alicante and back Amsterdam. Flight HV6143 ,callsign TRA-31-Golf with a RWY24 departure. Backflight HV6144, callsign TRA-44-Alpha got a visual approach on request at RWY 18 Center. Both flights with his friend Willem van Ingen as Wingman and operated with the B737-800 reg PH-HZW Videostills…………

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15 Feb

Last flight of Captain Theo van Keulen @ Transavia

Captain Theo made his retirementflight at Transavia and together with Captain Onnebert as his ‘Wingman’. His last flight was a retourflight to Alicante- ALC. Flight HV6143 with callsign Transavia-31-Golf , got a runway 18L departure. Backflight HV6144, callsign Transavia-44-Alpha, got runway 18 Center for landing. Captain Theo docked the aircraft for the very last time at gate C13. Both flights got operated with the B737-800 reg PH-HXG Videostills……….

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29 Nov

Last flight of Captain Robert Adriaens @ KLM

Captain Robert made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. His ‘Wingmen’ were F/O Gert Jan Blaauwendraat and S/O Frank Coumans. Final destination on this retourflight was JNB – Johanneburg. Pilots call this a ‘Joburg’. Flight KL509 , AMS-JNB , stand Echo75 and RWY18L. This was a ‘Cargoflight’ and operated with a B777-200 reg PH-BQN. Final and backflight KL592 got a RWY18R arrival,operated with a B777-300ER reg PH-BVS. When entering the Dutch airspace the callsign of KL592 changed to ‘Robert-One’ Videostills……………..

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28 Nov

Last flight of Captain Ed Keil @ KLM

Captain Ed Keil made his last flight due to retirement at KLM. Final destination for this retourflight was YYZ -Toronto. Special note, the place to live with his wife…… Backflight KL692 , calsign KLM86-Heavy, got a RWY18R arrival and was operated with the B777-200 reg PH-BQD Videostills………………

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