KLM Paintings

In the early fifties, a KLM flight bound for Dhahran encountered an unexpected shamaal on arrival. They made several approaches and were unable to land. Bahrain was socked in too. The pilot headed for Basra, at the head of the gulf, but Dhahran's visibility began to inprove and the pilot turned back toward the original destination. In the vicinity of Ras Tanura, the plane ran out of fuel and the pilot made a wheels up landing in the desert, narrowly missing dunes. There were no injuries and the aircraft sustained minimal damage. The captain was a real hero!

ARAMCO sent heavy equipment to the site soon after and loaded the airplane onto a lowboy. A crew trucked the aircraft to Dhahran where ARAMCO's flight facilities were put at the disposal of KLM. Replacement propellors and other equipment was flown in and a KLM flight crew eventually flew the DC-6 back to Holland.

In appreciation, KLM gave ARAMCO three HUGE oil paintings depicting KLM airliners in idealized flight; the colors were vivid and I remember how dramatic and powerful the skies appeared. The frames were gold colored and very ornate. They hung in the two Dhahran admin buildings. I recall seeing them when I was a summer employee. That was 1958.

When I returned to ARAMCO in 1982, I worked in Office Services as a planning and programs analyst. I made casual inquiries about these paintings when I could not find them anywhere in the Dhahran Core Complex. Nobody I contacted knew anything about them.

I wonder if ARAMCO uses these paintings in a museum exhibit or if they are installed as a permanent exhibit somewhere. Anyone out there remember these paintings or know anything about their disposition? Better yet. Does anyone know anyone who was on that airplane?

Rolf Christophersen