On 17 November 1964, Major Willem ‘Wim’ Heitmeijer, born in Aalten, took off from Leeuwarden Air Base on a navigation flight in a Starfighter. During the flight he lost consciousness. His aircraft continued on autopilot and flew hundreds of kilometres without a responsive pilot, all the way into Norway.
A routine training flight
Heitmeijer had been commander of 322 Squadron since 3 August 1964. On the morning of 17 November 1964, he was flying Lockheed F-104G Starfighter D-8045. Lieutenant J.C. Dames accompanied him as his wingman. The two aircraft formed Mission 07.
They took off from Leeuwarden at 09:21 Zulu time. At first the flight proceeded normally, but after only about four minutes Heitmeijer reported problems with the cabin pressure and heating. Radio communications also became more difficult. At 09:39 he reported that he could not maintain cabin pressure; shortly afterwards he complained of a headache.
Unconscious in the cockpit
Some time later, Dames could no longer get a response from his commander. Flying alongside D-8045, he saw Heitmeijer slumped forwards in the cockpit. At 10:02 he reported that his flight leader appeared to have a problem with his oxygen supply and was unconscious.
The Starfighter meanwhile continued north at about 27,000 feet, apparently still on autopilot. Dames tried to rouse Heitmeijer but eventually had to turn back because of his own fuel situation. The German, Danish and Norwegian air-defence authorities were alerted.
Over Norway
At 10:40 Zulu time the Dutch Starfighter entered Norwegian airspace. The Royal Norwegian Air Force sent an F-86 Sabre to intercept it. Lieutenant-Colonel Arne Riegels sighted the Starfighter over the Hardangerjøkulen area.
Riegels could see that Heitmeijer was still slumped forwards in his seat. He tried to contact him on several radio frequencies and manoeuvred his aircraft around the Starfighter in an attempt to provoke a response. None came.
When D-8045 ran out of fuel, the engine stopped. The aircraft lost altitude and disappeared through the cloud cover.
A search in severe weather
At first it was assumed that the Starfighter had crashed into the sea. Weather conditions in Norway were severe: snow, strong winds and poor visibility hampered the search. Witnesses, however, had heard a loud bang coming from inland.
The following morning the search area was shifted towards Eikrem and the Treeker area. Around sixty people took part. At 10:10 the wreckage was found at Niplia in Treekerskogen, near Straumsnes in the municipality of Tingvoll.
What went wrong?
The investigation pointed to a problem with the oxygen supply. Heitmeijer had probably lost consciousness through oxygen deprivation. Because the Starfighter remained on autopilot, the aircraft continued on its course until its fuel was exhausted.
Specialist documentation on the F-104 likewise attributes the loss of consciousness to a problem associated with the oxygen mask. The precise moment at which Heitmeijer died could not be established.
A grave far from Aalten
The remains that could be recovered were buried at Værnes cemetery on 2 December 1964. It has never become entirely clear why the Dutch pilot was buried in Norway rather than being repatriated to the Netherlands.
For his widow Atty, the crash site at Niplia itself came to represent her husband’s true grave. In the years that followed, the location became a place of remembrance for both the family and the local community.
‘Bill’s corner’
Heitmeijer continued to be remembered around Straumsnes. A small display at the local school became known as Bill’s corner, after the nickname by which he was known in the air force.
At the initiative of his son Hilbert, a memorial plaque was placed at the crash site. It was unveiled on 2 May 2000. Family members travelled from the Netherlands for the ceremony. Four aircraft from 322 Squadron flew a missing man formation overhead, in which one aircraft leaves the formation to symbolise the person who did not return.
In this way, thirty-five years after it began on an ordinary November morning at Leeuwarden, Willem Heitmeijer’s final flight received a permanent memorial in the Norwegian woods.