By Geoffrey Thomas
Published Fri Oct 11 2024
Sixty-five years ago, airlines such as KLM equipped its flight attendants with AR-10 rifles in case the aircraft had to make an emergency landing in the wild unforgiving arctic!
The airline operated a trans- poplar route from Amsterdam to Tokyo which offered unique challenges and the airline was so concerned about the possibility of a polar bear attack on stranded passengers, it included the AR-10 “Polar Survival” rifle.
The KLM press photo shows a flight attendant in full arctic survival outfit with the AR-10 rifle and has been colorised by Benoit Vienne.
The air route from Amsterdam via Anchorage to Tokyo was operated by long-range Douglas DC-7C piston planes (below).
The route, was launched in 1958.
