The Tenerife airport disaster, as it is commonly known, occurred on March 27, 1977. It involved two Boeing 747 passenger planes, a KLM Flight 4805 and a Pan Am Flight 1736, that collided on the runway of the Los Rodeos Airport (now known as Tenerife North Airport) in Tenerife, Canary Islands. The accident resulted in 583 deaths, making it the deadliest aviation accident in history.
The disaster was caused by a number of factors, including poor visibility due to fog, miscommunication between the air traffic control tower and the pilots, and a series of misunderstandings and errors by the KLM pilot, who initiated takeoff without proper clearance. The Pan Am flight was still on the runway when the KLM flight collided with it, causing both planes to burst into flames.
All 248 passengers and crew members aboard the KLM flight were killed, while 335 of the 396 passengers and crew members aboard the Pan Am flight lost their lives. The disaster shocked the aviation industry and prompted significant changes in air traffic control procedures, including the introduction of standardized phraseology in communication between pilots and air traffic controllers, and the implementation of cockpit voice recorders.
The Tenerife airport disaster remains one of the deadliest and most tragic accidents in aviation history, and serves as a stark reminder of the importance of safety protocols and communication in air travel.
