On 3 March 1942, the pilot of PK-AFV was a Russian World War I ace, Ivan Smirnov (or Smirnoff). The other three crew members were co-pilot Jo Hoffman, radio operator Jo Muller and flight engineer N.J. Blaauw. They were transporting eight passengers, fleeing the Japanese invasion of Java. Among the passengers were five pilots from the army and navy, Pieter Cramerus, G. D. Brinkman, Leon Vanderburg, Daan Hendriksz and H. M. Gerrits. The other three passengers were Maria van Tuyn, her baby son Johannes and trainee flight engineer H. van Romondt.