NLM CityHopper Flight 431 refers to a Fokker F-28-4000, registration PH-CHI, that was due to operate an international scheduled Rotterdam–Eindhoven–Hamburg passenger service.The first officer was 28-year-old Hendrik Schoorl, who had been with the airline for three years and had 2,971 flight hours, with 2,688 of them on the Fokker F28.[3] During the weather briefing 44 minutes before takeoff, the crew was apprised to an area of strong thunderstorms with 3/8 (37.5%) sky coverage of cumulonimbus at a base of 1,200 feet (370 m), south-southwest winds 15 to 25 knots (28 to 46 km/h; 17 to 29 mph) strong, and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) visibility at Rotterdam Airport (IATA: RTM).[5][6] Stresses experienced by the airframe owing to severe turbulence[7] resulted in loads of +6.8 g and −3.2 g causing the starboard wing to detach.[2] While observing the unfolding incident from the ground, a firefighter suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.