Jan Bartelski , a KLM captain until 1978 and later president of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots ' Associations , was a contemporary of Veldhuyzen van Zanten and knew him personally . In his book '' Disasters In The Air '' , he describes Veldhuyzen van Zanten as : And adds that : Shortly before the Tenerife airport disaster , in which he was involved in , Veldhuyzen van Zanten was photographed for KLM 's advertising campaign . While this has been attributed to his high position within KLM , Jan Bartelski , for instance , argues that Veldhuyzen van Zanten was photographed simply because he was the only captain available ( due to his responsibilities as a flight instructor ) to KLM Public Relations , as others were away flying
Tenerife airport disaster
Tenerife airport disaster
Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten