worst aircrash ever klm into pan am Los Rodeos Airport (now known as Tenerife North Airport)

In 1977 two Boeing 747 airliners collided on the runway of Los Rodeos Airport (now known as Tenerife North Airport) on the Spanish island of Tenerife, resulting in the deaths of 583 people, making it the worst accident in aviation history. The number of fatalities caused by airplane related crashes was exceeded only by the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

The disaster took place on March 27, 1977 at 17:06:56 local time. The aircraft involved were the 747s of Pan Am Flight 1736 (the Clipper Victor) under the command of Captain Victor Grubbs, and KLM Flight 4805 (the Rijn) under the command of Captain Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten. Taking off on the only runway of the airport, the KLM flight crashed into the Pan Am aircraft taxiing in the opposite direction on the same runway.
Probable cause

While there is disagreement about their relative importance, the investigation concluded that the major factors of the accident were: * KLM mistakenly took off without a take-off clearance. * The sudden fog limited visibility greatly. The control tower and the crews of both planes were unable to see each other. * Pan Am mistakenly continued to exit 4 instead of exiting at number 3 as directed by ATC. * Simultaneous radio transmissions, with the result that neither message could be heard. * Use of ambiguous non-standard phrases by the KLM co-pilot ("We're at take off") and the Tenerife control tower ("O.K."). * The airport was (due to rerouting from the bomb threat) forced to accommodate a large number of large aircraft, resulting in disruption of the normal use of taxiways.

[edit] Speculations

Experts speculated about other contributing factors: * Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten's failure to confirm instructions from the tower. The flight was one of his first after spending six months training new pilots on a flight simulator. He may have suffered from 'training syndrome', having been in charge of everything at the simulator (including simulated ATC), and having been away from the real world of flying for extended periods.[2] * The flight engineer's apparent hesitation to further challenge Veldhuyzen van Zanten, possibly because Captain van Zanten was not only senior in rank, but also one of the most able and experienced pilots working for the airline.[2] * The possibility that van Zanten was in a hurry to commence the delayed flight due to Dutch regulations on exceeding crew duty hours.[10] * The extra fuel that the KLM plane took on added several factors. It delayed take-off an extra 35 minutes, which gave time for the fog to settle in. It added 55 tons of weight to the plane, which made it more difficult to clear the Pan Am when taking off. It also made the explosion from the crash that ultimately killed everyone on board that much larger and more deadly. * Captain van Zanten's reaction, once he spotted the Pan Am plane, was to attempt to take off before he had adequate airspeed. The sharp lifting angle caused the KLM jet to drag its tail on the runway, thereby reducing its speed even further. The plane had, however, exceeded its V1 speed[11]. * There was disagreement between the various investigative bodies, with the Dutch investigators suggesting that during the incident the Spanish control tower crew had been listening to a football game on the radio and that the American crew was at fault for staying on the runway. Both the Spanish and Pan American investigations pointed the finger primarily at the KLM crew

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• klm
• worst
• accident

[loopy1980]

can i just say you are an idiot for putting that writing in the middle of the screen. :)

[FireFighterrock24]

it wasnt a bomb threat that caused the "worst plane crash ever"

it was caused by a KLM captain being an idiot and ended up murdering people

[wimtenholder]

The KLM captein, the absolute top pilot didn't follow a rule that is safe for everyone. In the

twenties, a KLM pilot (Geysendorfer) telegraphed his Amsterdam' office: "I am stuck here,

motor problems, advice." KLM Director Dr Albert Plesman answered, "PROCEED, BUT

TAKE NO RISK." Drum that in your head, people. If you can not go further phicically, go

further THINKING how to remove what is in the way, but always proceeed. Wim ten Holder

[BobDoleNSatanRmyniGz]

This is all Air Traffic Controls responsibility... Who gives a shit who's fault it was!

[dzavo2007]

ya but look there were so many things that happend ( the bomb, the captain, fog, etc) if one of them didnt happen this crash would not have happend.

[SUGEBLAZE]

suck a cock

[thebeardguy71]

@FireFighterrock24 He's actually sorta right here. I know you don't care much, but the 747s were diverted to tenerife because of a bomb scare in their original landing destination. Though the KLM captain was fully responsible.

[basilisk555]

@stylz99101 yes, you hit the nail on the head. Because of this horrible disaster they changed the entire chain of hierarchy on commercial planes so that now if a second-officer second-guesses the Captain, Capt. is REQUIRED BY LAW to listen.

[basilisk555]

@jessicafischerqueen : Yes, you're correct, it is TODAY the international language, but in 1977 it was not.

I'm not an expert on Tenefire history but I believe that after the disaster, they made the law that decreed English to be universal.

[harpdude07]

Hi, I wrote a story of this accident, as well as an analysis of the consequences, on a new website I started. I plan to add more disasters and how they made flying safer. Anyway, if you want to supplement this video with my article, and tell me what you thought of it either here or on the forum thread on the site I'd love to see what people think. I also want suggestions for further articles. The site is on my channel, click the 'Crashes' tab to read it. Thanks in advance!!

[Tutorialreporter]

@VIPBaller DUDE! they thought they where clear!! AND HE DID ASKED FOR CLEARANCE YOU MORON!